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IMAGE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (MT-3) 


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Photographic 

Sdences 

(Corporation 


23  WEST  MAIN  STREET 

WEBSTER,  N.Y.  14580 

(716)  •72-4503 


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CIHM/ICMH 

Microfiche 

Series. 


CIHIVI/ICMH 
Collection  de 
microfiches. 


Canadian  Institute  for  l-listorical  IVIicroreproductions  /  Institut  Canadian  de  microreproductions  historiques 


TMhnieal  and  Bibliographic  Notaa/Notas  tacltniquaa  at  bibliograpliiquaa 


Tha  Inatituta  haa  attamptad  to  obtain  tha  baat 
originai  copy  availabia  for  fiiming.  Faaturaa  of  thia 
copy  which  may  ba  bibliographieaily  uniqua, 
which  may  altar  any  of  tha  imagaa  in  tha 
raproductlon,  or  which  may  aigniflcantly  changa 
tha  uaual  mathod  of  filming,  ara  chaclcad  baiow. 


□   Colourad  covara/ 
Couvartura  da  coulaur 


I     I   Covara  damagad/ 


D 


D 


D 


D 


□ 


Couvartura  andommagia 

Covara  raatorad  and/or  lamlnatad/ 
Couvartura  raataurAa  at/ou  palliculAa 


r~1   Covar  titia  mlaaing/ 


La  titra  da  couvartura  manqua 


I     I   Colourad  mapa/ 


Cartas  gAographiquas  an  coulaur 

Colourad  Init  (l.a.  othar  than  blua  or  blacic)/ 
Encra  da  coulaur  (l.a.  autra  qua  blaua  ou  noira) 


□   Colourad  platas  and/or  liluatratlons/ 
Planchas  at/ou  llluatratlont  an  coulaur 

□    Bound  with  othar  matarial/ 
Rali4  avac  d'autraa  documantt 


Tight  binding  may  causa  shadow*  or  distortion 
along  intarior  margin/ 

La  raliura  sarria  paut  causar  da  I'ombra  ou  da  la 
distortion  la  long  da  la  marga  intAriaura 

Blank  laaves  addad  during  rastoration  may 
appaar  within  tha  taxt.  Whanevar  posslbia,  thasa 
hava  baan  omittod  from  filming/ 
II  sa  paut  qua  cartainas  pagas  blanchas  ajoutias 
lors  d'una  rastauratlon  apparaissant  dans  la  taxta, 
mals.  lorsque  cela  Atait  possibia,  cas  pagas  n'ont 
pas  At*  fllmaas. 

Additional  commants:/ 
Commantairas  supplAmantaires: 


Tha 
tot 


L'Inatitut  a  microfilm*  la  mailiaur  axampiaira 
q'i'll  lui  a  At*  poaaibia  da  aa  procurar.  Laa  d4talla 
itm  cat  axampiaira  qui  aont  paut-Atra  uniquaa  du 
point  da  vua  bibliographiqua,  qui  pauvant  modlfiar 
una  imaga  raproduita,  ou  qui  pauvant  axigar  una 
modification  dana  la  mAthoda  normala  da  filmaga 
aont  indlqute  ci-dasaoua. 


□   Colourad  pagas/ 
Pagas  da  coulaur 

□   Pagas  damagad/ 
Pagaa  andommagAaa 

□   Pagas  raatorad  and/or  lamlnatad/ 
Pagas  rastaurias  at/ou  palliculAas 

r~lr  Pagas  discolourad.  stainad  or  foxad/ 


Tha 
pos 
oft 
film 


Ori( 
bag 
tha 
sior 
othi 
first 
sior 
or  i 


D 


Pagas  dicoiorAas.  tachattea  ou  piquAaa 

Pagas  datachad/ 
Pagas  dAtachAas 

Showthroughy 
Tranaparanca 

Quality  of  prir 

Quaiit*  InAgala  da  I'imprassion 

Includes  supplamantary  matarli 
Comprand  du  material  supplAmantaira 

Only  aditlon  availabia/ 
Saula  MItlon  disponibia 


I     I  Pagas  datachad/ 

r~\  Showthrough/ 

nn  Quality  of  print  varlas/ 

|~~1  Includes  supplamantary  material/ 

I — I  Only  aditlon  availabia/ 


The 
she 
TIN 
whi 

Mar 
diff« 
enti 
begl 
righ 
reqi 
met 


Pagas  wholly  or  partially  obscured  by  errata 
slips,  tissues,  etc..  have  been  refilmed  to 
ensure  the  best  possible  image/ 
Lea  pages  totalement  ou  pertieliement 
obscurcies  par  un  feuillet  d'errata.  una  palure. 
etc.,  ont  *tA  fiimAes  A  nouveau  de  fa^on  A 
obtenir  la  meilleure  image  possible. 


This  item  is  filmed  at  the  reduction  ratio  checiced  below/ 

Ce  document  est  film6  au  taux  de  raductioit  indiquA  ci-dessous. 

10X  14X  18X  22X 


26X 


30X 


7 


12X 


16X 


aox 


24X 


28X 


32X 


ir« 
d*tail« 

IMdU 

modifier 
l«r  una 
filmag* 


The  copy  filmod  hero  liaa  boon  roproducod  thanict 
to  tho  gonoroalty  of: 

National  Library  of  Canada 


Tlio  image*  appearing  here  are  the  best  quaiity 
posaibie  considering  the  condition  and  iegibiiity 
of  the  original  copy  and  in  Iteeping  with  the 
filming  contract  spocifications. 


L'exemplaire  film*  fut  reproduit  grAce  A  la 
gAnArosit*  de: 

BibliothAque  nationale  du  Canada 


Les  Imeges  suiventes  ont  tt6  reprodultes  avec  le 
plus  grend  soin,  compte  tenu  de  la  condition  at 
de  la  nettetA  de  l'exemplaire  f  llm«,  et  en 
conformity  avec  les  conditions  du  contrat  de 
fiimaga. 


Original  copies  in  printed  peper  covers  are  filmed 
beginning  with  the  front  cover  and  ending  on 
the  last  page  with  a  printed  or  iilustrated  Impres- 
sion, or  the  bacit  cover  when  appropriate.  All 
other  original  copies  are  filmed  beginning  on  the 
first  page  with  a  printed  or  iilustrated  Impres- 
sion, and  ending  on  the  last  page  with  a  printed 
or  Illustrated  Impression. 


Les  exemplaires  originaux  dont  ia  couverture  en 
papier  est  ImprlmAe  sont  fiimAs  en  commenpant 
par  le  premier  plot  et  en  terminant  soit  par  la 
derniAre  pege  qui  comporte  une  empreinte 
d'impresslon  ou  d'lliustration,  soit  par  le  second 
plat,  selon  le  cas.  Tous  las  autres  exemplaires 
originaux  sont  fllm6s  en  commenpant  par  ia 
premidre  page  qui  comporte  une  empreinte 
d'impresslon  ou  d'iiiustratlon  et  en  terminant  par 
la  dernlAre  page  qui  comporte  une  telle 
empreinte. 


The  last  recorded  frame  on  each  microfiche 
shall  contain  the  symbol  "-^  (meaning  "CON- 
TINUED"), or  the  symbol  V  (meaning  "END"), 
whichever  applies. 


Un  dee  symboles  suivants  apparaltra  sur  ia 
dernlAre  image  de  cheque  microfiche,  selon  le 
cas:  le  symbols  — ►  signifie  "A  SUIVRE".  le 
symbols  y  signifie  "FIN". 


Maps,  plates,  charts,  etc..  may  be  filmed  at 
different  reduction  ratios.  Those  too  large  to  be 
entirely  included  In  one  exposure  are  filmed 
beginning  in  the  upper  left  hand  corner,  left  to 
right  and  top  to  bottom,  as  many  frames  as 
required.  The  following  diagrams  illustrate  the 
method  r 


Les  cartes,  planches,  tableaux,  etc.,  peuvent  Atre 
filmAs  it  des  taux  de  reduction  diffirents. 
Lorsque  le  document  est  trop  grand  pour  Atre 
reproduit  en  un  seui  clichA.  il  est  filmA  A  partir 
de  i'angle  supArleur  gauche,  de  gauche  A  droite. 
et  de  haut  en  bas.  en  prenant  le  nombre 
d'Images  nAcessalre.  Les  diagrammes  suivants 
iiiustrent  la  mAthode. 


'  errete 
dto 

t 

e  pelure. 

;on  A 


1 

2 

3 

32X 


1 

2 

3 

4 

6 

6 

^//'^ 


p/^/-^/:^ro  UJ  £^/;    HfNP.y       by 


CAPTAIN   GLAZIER  AND   HIS  LAKE 


.'   N       V    V 


•*  f 


/d^irr 


r* 


ED  UCA  TIONA  L    REP  OR  TER— EXTRA 


CAPTAIN    GLAZIER 


AND 


HIS    LAKE 


lan  3)nquttv 


INTO  THE   HISTORY  AND   PROGKESS  OF   EXPLORATION   AT   THE 

HEAD-WATERS  OF    THE  MISSISSIPPI   SINCE   THE 

DISCOVERY   OF    LAKE    ITASCA 


IVISON,  BLAKEMAN  &  COMPANY 

NEW  YORK  AND  CHICAGO 


T 


NOTE. 


The  preparation  of  this  paper  was  originally  begun  with  a  view  to  its  pub- 
lication in  the  issue  of  the  "  Educational  Iteporter  "  for  Juno,  1886.  Its  pur- 
pose was  to  state  what  was  known  about  the  head-waters  of  the  Mississippi,  and 
briefly  to  inquire  into  the  validity  of  the  claims  of  Captain  Willard  Glazier  to 
having  made  im|)ortant  discoveries  and  explorations  in  that  region. 

In  common  w'th  nmny  others  who  have  editorial  supervision  of  geographi- 
cal and  educational  publications,  I  had  been  fi-equently  urged  to  recognize  these 
claims  of  Captain  Oluzier  ;  but  this  inquiry  soon  as^sumed  such  proportions 
that  1  contented  myself  with  puljlishing  an  extraft  from  Nicollet's  report  of 
his  explorations  in  183(5,  together  with  a  brief  reference  to  Captain  Glazier. 
With  such  a  statement  of  previous  exploration,  it  was  ho[)ed  that  Captain  Gla- 
zier and  his  friends  would  somewhat  modify  or  moderate  their  claims  in  his  be- 
half. T!»o  very  opposite  has  seemed  to  be  the  effect,  if  one  may  judge  correctly 
from  the  extracts  from  the  newspaper  press  which  have  been  sent  to  me  during 
the  past  three  months. 

As  a  result,  what  was  first  intended  to  bo  a  brief  inquiry  into  the  history  and 
progress  of  exploration  at  the  head-waters  of  the  Mississippi  becomes,  by  force 
of  circumstances,  rather  the  exposure  of  an  attempted  fraud  which  has  been  al- 
together too  successful  for  the  credit  of  Americim  intelligence  and  scholarship. 
Yet  it  is  always  fur  more  agreeable  to  gather  together  the  scattered  data  that  go 
to  make  up  the  sum  of  knowledge  in  any  field  than  simply  to  break  down  a 
reputation  for  knowledge,  however  fraudulent  that  reputation  may  be  ;  and  so 
I  have  taken  far  greater  i)leasure  in  collecting  under  one  cover  the  few  facts  rel- 
ative to  the  exploration  of  the  sources  of  the  great  river  since  the  white  man 
first  sighted  Lake  Itasca,  than  in  any  pillorying  of  Captain  Glazier,  however 
effective  that  may  seem  to  be. 

IIenuv  D.  Uarbower. 

Nkw  York,  October,  1886. 


2  I'^S't'S 

a.    ^  g  £>  5>;J 

Illlll 


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I 

1 


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I 

i 


Captain  Glazier  and  His  Lake. 


i 


AccoRDiNO  to  the  latest  version  of  modern  burlesque,  the 
Kin<,'  of  Si)ain  once  upon  a  time  said  to  Columbus,  "  Colum- 
bus, can  you  discover  America?" 

To  which  replied  the  great  Christopher:  "Certainly,  your 
majesty,  if  you  will  give  me  a  ship." 

So  the  king  gave  him  a  ship,  and  he  sailed  and  he  sailed 
until  he  came  in  sight  of  land.  Sailing  up  to  the  shore,  he 
hailed  a  chief  and  asked  him,  "  Is  this  America?" 

Whereupon  the  chief,  turning  to  his  band,  said :  "  There  is 
no  use  of  denying  it ;  we  are  discovered ; "  and,  addressing  him- 
self to  Columbus,  owned  up :  "  Yes,  this  is  America.  Who  are 
you?" 

"  I  am  Columbus." 

"  Why,  of  course ;  I  might  have  known  it" 

Very  much  the  same  way,  a  few  years  ago  Captain  Willard 
Glazier  propounded  to  himself  (for  he  acknowledged  no  kinglier) 
thus:  "Captain,  can  you  discover  Lake  Glazier,  the  true  source 
of  the  Mississippi  liiver?" 

"  Of  course  I  can,  if  I  can  have  a  canoe  and  a  few  trusty 
friends  who  will  go  with  me  into  the  wilds  of  Minnesota." 

So  they  went  forth  into  the  northern  wilds;  and  after  a  time 
they  came  to  a  lake,  and  they  voted  that  it  was  Lake  Glazier, 
and  that  no  white  man  had  ever  seen  it  before,  and  that  Captain 
Glazier  was  a  great  discoverer.  And  thus  he  won  eternal  fame 
by  the  unanimous  vote  of  five  of  his  fellow-citizeus,  including 
three  "  Indians,  not  taxed," 

THE  GREAT  DISCOVERY. 

Captain  Glazier  is  a  gentleman  who  belonged  to  the  Union 
volunteer  army  in  the  civil  war,  and  there  is  no  reason  to 
doubt  that  he  was  a  faithful  and  gallant  soldier.     Since  the  war 


8 


CAPTAIS  GLA'/IHH  AND  HIS  LAKE. 


\w  \\\\A  boon  u  nitlier  voluiiiiiions  writor  of  war  n'ininiMcoiices, 
ill  wliicli  Cniilaiii  (ila/ier  ^'ciiorally  li^'iircH  an  tlio  loading'  char- 
uotor  uii'l  hero,  lie  lias  travoU'<l  acroHM  tliocoiitinont  oti  Ijorsehack 
from  IJoston  to  San  Francisco,  and  has  made  a  canoe  trip  from 
the  liead-watcrs  of  tlic  Mississipjti  to  tlie  Gnif  <tf  Mexico. 

It  is  in  connection  with  tiiis  trij)  down  tiie  A[isHissi[)pi  that 
Captain  (Jhi/ier  chiinis  to  have  carved  Ids  name  on  the;  very 
cap-stone  of  iVmeriean  ^(;o<^raphical  researcli.  lie  tells  us*  tliat 
while  erossin;^  the  continent  on  horseback  in  1870  lie  came  to 
the  Mississijipi  Kivcr,  and,  musing  on  that  mighty  stream  and 
''the  uncertainty  that  existed  as  to  its  true  source,"  he  concluded 
"that  there  was  yet  a  rich  field  for  cx{)loration  in  the  wilds  of 
Minnesota.''  In  course  of  time,  therefore,  we  lind  Ca[)tain  Glazier 
ready  to  enter  upon  the  exploration  of  this  rich  field.  There  is 
no  eviilenee  that  Caj)tain  (lla/ier  made  any  cfTort  to  inform  liim- 
self  as  to  wliat  was  already  known  about  the  sources  of  the  river. 
He  certainly  took  no  account  of  the  data  in  possession  of  the 
govermnent  Land  Department,  and  generally  he  i)roceeded  on 
the  the(jry  that  everybody  was  as  ignorant  as  ho  in  regard  to 
the  matter. 

Accordingly,  in  tlic  month  of  May,  1881,  lie  sets  out  with 
two  comi)anions  for  the  North-west  He  goes  to  St.  Paul, 
Minn.,  thence  to  Brainerd,  and  on  across  the  Chippewa  Indian 
Keservation  to  Leech  liako,  where  he  finds  Indian  guides  for 
the  rest  of  the  journey.  Having  provided  himself  with  canoes, 
guides,  and  interpreter,  the  party  now  numbering  six  in  all,  he 
goes  by  water  and  numerous  portages  to  Lake  Itasca,  and  begins 
the  exploration  of  its  feeders  to  find  "  the  true  source  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi." Having  found  one  of  the  largest  inlets  of  Itasca,  the 
})arty  follows  it  to  an  expansion  in  a  small  lake,  of  which  they 
])roceed  to  take  possession  in  the  name  of  Captain  Glazier. 
As  they  sail  across  the  lake,  a  deer  is  seen  standing  on  the  shore 
and  an  eagle  sweeps  approvingly  over  their  heads — fit  omen 
of  immortal  fame.  Captain  Glazier  then  calls  his  audience 
to  order  at  the  foot  of  a  promontory  overlooking  the  lake, 
and  delivers  to  them  an  address  upon  the  greatness  of  their 


*  "The  Recent  Discovery  of  the  True  Source  of  the  Mississippi  River,"  by 
Willan.1  Glazier,  "Americnn  Meteorological  Journal,"  1884,  vol.  i.,  p.  170. 
Also,  "Sword  and  Pen;  or.  Ventures  and  Adventures  of  Willard  Glazier." 
Uy  John  Algernon  Owens.     Philadelphia:  P.  W.  Ziegler  &  Co.,  1884,  p.  438. 


C  APT  Am  GLAZIER  AND  ITIS  LAKE. 


9 


. 


own  ncliicvctnciits,  pMienmsIy  explaining  aiul  excusing  tlio 
failuri's  of  tlieir  (listin;,'uij4lu!(l  predecessors  in  tlie  work  of  Mis- 
Hissippi  Uiver  exploration.  A  volley  from  tlieir  liivarins  i» 
fired  in  honor  of  each  nienilK-r  of  tlie  party,  and  oiu'  of  liin 
white  companions  gives  the  captain  a  "surprise,"  hy  proposing 
"that  tho  newly-discovered  lake  he  named  Lake  (Jlazit'r,  in 
junior  of  its  discoverer.  The  proposition  was  Hccoiulcd  hy  MoseH 
Jjagard,  tlic  inter]»rcter,  and  carried  by  acclamation."'*  Then 
Che-no-wa-ge-sie,  the  chief  guide,  assumes  an  oratorical  attitude, 
and  addresses  the  captain  in  a  few  words  of  true  Indian  elo- 
(picnco.  "The  Indians  chimed  in  with  a  Chippewa  \cll,  and 
then,  while  the  air  was  still  reveri)erating  with  the  sound  of 
their  voices,  they  all  paused  to  take  in  once  more  the  scene  of 
their  explorations."  f 

The  party  returns  to  Schoolcraft  Island,  in  liake  Itasca, 
wIhtc  Captain  Glazier's  comj)anions  draw  up  a  petition  in  due 
form,  a(hlressed  "  To  Gkocuaimiical  Sociktiks,"  in  which  they 
state  the  nature  of  the  discovery,  claim  the  privilege  of  naming 
the  lake  "Lake  Glazier,  in  honor  of  the  leader  of  th(^  expedition, 
whose  energy,  perseverance,  and  i)luek  "  carried  them  throiigh 
their  undertaking,  and  earnestly  "  petition  all  geogra))hical  socie- 
ties to  give  it  that  |)rominence  which  has  heretofore  been  ac- 
corded to  Lake  Itasca,  and  to  which  it  is  justly  entitled  as  the 
primal  reservoir  of  the  grandest  river  on  this  continent."  This 
petition  was  duly  signed  by  all  the  party  except  Captain  Glazier,^ 
and  reads  as  follows : 

"  SrHnoLCRAFT's  Island,     i 
"  Lake  Itasca,  July  23,  1881.  J 

"  To  GEOGRAPniCAL  SOCIETIES  ! 

"We,  the  undersigned  companions  of  Captain  Willard  (Jlazier,  in  Iiis  voy- 
age of  exploration  to  the  head-waters  of  tho  Mississipj)!,  are  fully  convincod 
tliat  the  lake  tliscovercd  by  him,  and  claimed  as  the  head  of  the  river,  is  beyond 
question  the  source  of  the  '  Father  of  Waters.' 

"The  privilege  of  bestowing  a  name  upon  the  new  discovery  having  been 
delegated  to  us,  we  hereby  name  it  Lake  Glazier,  in  honor  of  the  leader  of  tho 
exiHjdition,  whose  energy,  jxirseverance,  and  pluck  carried  us  through  many 

*  It  is  gratifying  to  know  that  there  were  no  negative  votes  recorded  against 
the  proposition. 

f  "  Sword  and  Pen,"  p  475. 

I  "  Sword  and  Pen,"  pp.  503,  504.  It  h  worth  while  to  reproduce  this 
quite  exceptional  document  entire,  if  for  no  other  purpo.se,  at  least  to  preserve 
the  names  of  a  remarkable  coterie  of  savants. 


10 


CAPTAIN  GLAZIER  AND  HIS  LAKE. 


difficulties,  and  brought  us  at  last  to  the  shores  of  this  beautiful  lake,  which  is 
the  true  source  of  the  great  river. 

"  We  earnestly  petition  all  Geogn^aphical  Societies  to  give  it  that  prominence 
which  has  heretofore  been  accorded  to  Lake  Itasca,  and  to  which  it  is  justly 
entitled  as  the  primal  reservoir  of  the  grandest  river  on  this  continent. 

[Signed] 

"  Babtlett  Channino  Paine, 

Indianapolis,  Indiana, 

George  IIebbert  Glazieb, 

Chicago,  Illinois, 

Moses  Laoabd, 
Che-no-wa-ge-sic, 
Sebastine  Laoabd, 

Leech  Lake,  Minnesota, 


White  Companions. 


Interpreter  and 
Indian  Guides." 


i 


FROM  THE  SOURCE  TO  THE   GULF. 

Captain  Glazier  is  now  ready  to  begin  his  descent  of  the 
stream,  "  for,  as  yet,  but  a  small  portion  of  his  tremendous  under- 
taking has  been  accomplished."  The  rest  is  to  make  his  canoe 
voyage  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  and  "  to  deliver  a  lecture  on  the 
way  at  every  town  of  importance,  on  both  banks,  as  he  floats 
down  the  stream."  He  also  undertakes  to  interview  newspapers 
and  to  instruct  geographical  and  historical  societies  in  regard  to 
his  great  discoveries.  The  newspapers  respond  with  avidity, 
and  he  is  everywhere  warmly  hailed  and  welcomed  by  expres- 
sions "  such  as  would  naturally  occur  in  a  country  where  the 
people  delight  to  honor  enterprise,  courage,  and  ambition."  The 
peop'e  everywhere  flocked  to  the  landing-places  to  do  him  honor; 
and  "  many,  more  impatient  than  the  rest,  would  put  out  in 
canoes  and  skiffs  to  meet  him  on  the  way.  Upon  disembarking, 
he  would  be  escorted  to  his  hotel,  usually  preceded  by  a  band 
playing  *  Hail  to  the  Chief,'  '  See  the  Conquering  Hero  Comes,' 
or  other  appropriate  airs,  and  wherever  he  delivered  his  lectures 
large  audiences  greeted  him,  curious  to  see  and  hear  the  man 
who  had  at  last  discovered  the  source  of  the  Mississippi."  * 

And  so  on  down  the  great  river  till  Port  Eads  is  reached, 
where,  amid  the  booming  of  guns  and  the  waving  of  flags, 
they  paddle  out  into  the  wide  expanse  of  the  Gulf.  "He  was 
proud  of  the  fact  that  he  was  the  first  to  stand  at  the  fountain- 
head  of  his  country's  grandest  river  and  was  the  first  to  trav- 


*  "  Sword  and  Pen,"  p.  483. 


CAPTAIN  GLAZIER  AND  HIS  LAKE. 


11 


I 


erse  its  entire  course  .  .  .  and  now  at  its  outlet  could  write 
finis  to  the  great  work  of  his  life.  Few  men  in  the  world  can 
say  as  much,  for  the  energy,  perseverance,  unfaltering  will,  and 
indomitable  courage  which  characterize  Captain  Glazier  are  of 
rare  occurrence,  and  entitle  him  to  a  foremoot  position  in  the 
ranks  of  America's  distinguished  sons."  * 


GLORY  GALORE. 

This  certainly  is  glory  galore,  and  Captain  Glazier  seems  to 
revel  in  the  greatness  of  his  name  and  renown.  His  biographer, 
who  seems  to  know  his  inmost  thoughts,  and  to  be  indeed  his 
other  self,  dwells  with  admiring  phrases  upon  his  wonderful 
achievements  and  his  sure  title  to  eternal  fame.  And  the  cap- 
tain seems  to  have  been  able  to  impress  large  numbers  of  people 
with  this  estimate  of  himself. 

Upon  the  return  of  Captain  Glazier  to  New  Orleans  the 
mayor  of  that  city  tendered  him  the  freedom  of  the  city,  and  the 
New  Orleans  Academy  of  Sciences  gave  him  a  public  reception, 
at  which  resolutions  were  passed  recognizing  the  great  results 
of  his  expedition.  Dr.  J.  S.  Copes,t  the  president,  in  the  name 
of  the  academy,  thanked  Captain  Glazier,  and  congratulated 
him  upon  his  contribution  to  American  geographical  knowledge, 

*  "  Sword  and  Pen,"  p.  489. 

f  The  following  copy  of  an  autograph  letter  from  Dr.  Copes  indicates  how 
thoroughly  Captain  Glazier  had  impressed  himself  upon  that  eminent  gentle- 
man : 

"  Captain  Glazier: — I  congratulate  you  upon  the  successful  completion  of 
your  search  for  the  primal  reservoir  of  the  Mississippi  River.  It  would  be  well 
for  the  country  to  erect  before  the  view  of  its  youths  and  all  young  men  two 
monuments,  three  thousand  miles  asunder — the  one  at  the  source,  the  other  at 
the  mouth,  of  the  great  river  of  North  America— upon  which  should  be  chiseled 
'Enterprise,  Courage,  Faith,  Fortitude,  Patriotism,  Philanthropy,'  leaving 
to  posterity  the  selection  of  an  illustrative  name  to  bo  engraven  on  each  one 
when  events  shall  Lave  pointed  conclusively  to  the  benefactor  most  worthy  of 
this  honor.     A\'ith  great  respect,  yours  very  truly, 

"  J.  S.  Copes, 
"  President  New  Orleans  Academy  of  Sciences. 

"  New  Orleans,  Nov.  19, 1881." 

Whatever  thought  may  have  been  in  Dr.  Copes's  mind,  it  is  safe  to  say 
that  the  name  of  Glazier  will  -ever  be  engraven  on  either  of  the  monuments 
which  he  proposes  to  rear  in  honor  of  Enterprise,  Courage,  Faith,  Fortitude, 
Patriotism,  and  Philanthropy. 


12 


CAPTAIN  GLAZIER  AND  HIS  LAKE. 


comparing  liim  with  Be  Soto,  Marquette,  La  Salle,  Hennepin, 
and  Joliet,  Thej  had  explored  only  sections  of  the  great  river, 
"while  Captain  Glazier  had  made  the  important  discovery  of  its 
primal  reservoir,  and  traversed  its  entire  length  to  the  sea." 

From  New  Orleans  Captain  Glazier  proceeded  to  St.  Louis, 
where,  on  the  evening  of  January  l-l,  1882,  he  addressed  a  large 
audience,  consisting  of  members  of  the  Missouri  Historical 
Society,  the  Academy  of  Sciences,  clergy,  officers  and  teachers 
of  the  public  schools,  assembled  at  the  Mercantile  Library  Hall. 
He  was  introduced  by  Judge  Albert  Todd,  an  eminent  lawyer  and 
Vice-President  of  the  Historical  Society,  who  compared  him  with 
the  whole  line  of  explorers  from  Jason  to  Stanley.  "  Impelled 
by  this  spirit  of  enterprise  in  search  of  truth,"  thus  said  Judge 
Todd,  "  Captain  Glazier  has  discovered,  at  last,  the  true  source 
of  our  grand  and  peerless  river,  the  Father  of  Waters."  * 

LITERARY  WORK. 

Subsequent  to  these  events  Captain  Glazier  naturally  rested 
for  a  time  on  his  laurels  and  devoted  himself  to  "  literary  work." 
Soon,  however,  he  took  the  proper  means  of  communicating  his 
discoveries  to  various  learned  bodies,  seeking  the  recognition  due 
his  labors  and  achievements.  He  published  an  elaborate  map  of 
the  head-waters  of  the  Mississippi,  showing  the  location  of  Lake 
Glazier.  This  he  sent  to  Judge  Daly,  the  distinguished  and  ver- 
satile President  of  the  American  Geographical  Society ;  and  a 

*  "  Sword  and  Pen,"  pp.  497,  498.  Like  Dr.  Copes,  Judge  Todd  seems  to 
have  taken  Captain  Glazier  at  his  own  estimate,  and  to  have  accepted  his  story 
of  his  exploits  and  discoveries  without  a  grain  of  allowance.  The  following 
pleasing  souvenir  is  reproduced  by  the  author  of  "  Sword  and  Pen,"  as  show- 
ing an  "especial  appreciation  of  the  captain's  endeavor  to  increase  the  geo- 
graphical lore  of  the  Mississippi  River: " 

"To  Captain  Willard  Glaziee — Oreeting : 

"  With  triple  wreaths  doth  fame  thine  heail  now  crown; 
The  patriot  soldier's,  in  fierce  battles  won ; 
The  '  Pen's  '  than  the  '  Sword's '  mankind's  greater  boon ; 
The  bold  Explorer's  finding  where  was  bom 
The  Rivers'  King,  till  now,  like  Nile's,  unknown. 
May  years  of  high  emprise  increase  thy  fame, 
And  with  thy  death  arise  a  deathless  name. 

"Albert  Todd, 
"  Vice-f  resident  Missouri  Ilistoriea]  Society. 
"St.  Louis,  Jan.  14, 1882." 


1, 


i 


1, 


i 


CAPTAIN  GLAZIER  AND  HIS  LAKE. 


18 


copy  of  the  map,  with  Captain  Glazier's  letter,  was  transmitted 
by  Judge  Daly  to  the  "  New  York  Herald  "  in  June,  1884,  and 
thus  given  to  the  world  with  the  stamp  of  approval  of  the  great- 
est geographical  authority  in  America, 

In  1884  he  contributed  to  the  pages  of  the  "  American  Me- 
teorological Journal  "  an  elaborate  account  of  the  "  Recent  Dis- 
covery of  the  True  Source  of  the  Mississippi  River,"  illustrated 
with  maps  and  engravings,  and  this  had  wide  circulation,  with 
the  apparent  approval  of  a  scientific  journal  edited  by  a  distin- 
guished member  of  the  faculty  of  the  University  of  Michigan. 
The  same  year  appeared  a  book  of  over  five  hundred  pages,  to 
which  reference  has  been  made  above—  "  Sword  and  Pen ;  or, 
Ventures  and  Adventures  of  Willard  Glazier  (the  Soldier- 
Author),  in  War  and  Literature.  By  John  Algernon  Owens." 
This  book  devotes  its  last  nine  chapters  to  the  crowning  work 
of  Captain  Glazier's  life,  the  discovery  of  the  source  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi River,  holding  him  up  to  the  youth  of  America  as  "an 
example  which  all  men  would  do  well  to  reflect  upon  and 
imitate." 

Finally,  having  exhausted  one  continent,  he  sought  other 
worlds  to  conquer,  and  sent  his  map,  with  a  modest  communi- 
cation, to  the  Secretary  of  the  Royal  Geographical  Society  of 
England.     The  map  and  the  captain's  letter*  were  duly  pub- 

*The  following  is  a  copy  of  Captain  Glazier's  letter  to  the  Royal  Geo- 
graphical Society,  as  published  in  the  society's  "Monthly  Record"  for  Janu- 
ary, 1885. 

"DISCOVERY  OF  THE  TRUE  SOURCE  OP   THE   MISSISSIPPI. 

BY  CAPTAIN  WTWJIRD  GLAZIER  (U.  S.). 

"The  true  source  of  the  Mississippi  has  been  a  vexed  question  among 
American  geographers  for  '^ome  time,  the  country  around  its  head-woters 
being  in  a  very  wild  condition,  inhabited  only  by  Indians,  and  access  to  it 
difficult  of  accomplishment.  In  June,  1881,  I  organized  and  led  an  expedi- 
tion with  the  object  of  settling  forever  the  question  of  the  source  of  our  great 
river.  We  proceeded  via  Leech  Lake  to  Lake  Itasca,  and,  accompanied  by 
an  old  Indian  guide,  pushed  forward  to  the  South,  and  were  rewarded  by  the 
discovery  of  another  lake  of  considerable  size,  which  proves  to  be,  without  the 
shadow  of  a  doubt,  the  true  source  of  the  Mississippi,  in  lat.  47^  13'  25 ". 
From  notes  taken  during  the  ascent,  it  cannot  be  less  than  three  feet  above 
Lake  Itasca — the  hitherto  supposed  source  of  the  river.  The  Mississippi  may, 
therefore,  be  said  to  originate  in  an  altitude  1,578  feet  above  the  Atlantic 
Ocean.  Its  length,  taking  former  data  as  the  basis,  may  be  placed  at  3,184 
miles. 


14 


CAPTAIN  GLAZIER  AND  HIS  LAKE. 


lisbed  in  the  "  Monthly  Record  of  Geography,"  issued  under  the 
authority  of  the  Council  of  the  Society,  January,  1885,  and,  later, 
the  thanks  of  the  society  were  conveyed  to  Captain  Glazier  by 
order  of  the  council,  in  an  autograph  letter  from  the  secretary 
of  that  august  body. 

During  the  past  year  a  friend  of  the  captain,  fortified  by 
numerous  scrap-books  containing  the  record  of  the  above  in- 
dorsements and  publications,  has  been  industriously  visiting 
publishers  of  geographical  text-books  and  reference  atlases,  to 
secure  at  their  hands  the  insertion  of  Lake  Glazier  on  their 
maps,  and  a  statement  in  the  text  to  the  effect  that  it  is  the 
head  and  source  of  the  Mississippi.  How  generally  this  effort 
has  been  successful  the  forthcoming  editions  of  such  works  will 
show.  In  a  number  of  cases  the  change  has  already  been  mada 
A  recent  letter  from  this  gentleman  says : 

"In  answer  to  your  question,  I  may  state  that  Captain  Glazier's  claim  to 
the  discovery  of  the  true  source  of  the  Mississippi  is  acknowledged  by  nearly 
every  leading  geographer  in  the  country ;  there  are  now  but  very  few  excep- 
tions. 

"  I  have  in  my  possession  hundreds  of  clippings  from  almost  every  paper 
published  on  the  banks  of  the  Mississippi ;  from  Aitken  and  Bramerd,  in  the 
extreme  north,  to  New  Orleans,  in  the  south.  The  St.  Louis  papers  had  many 
articles  on  the  subject,  and  all  recognized  the  fact  of  the  discovery,  and  com- 
mented on  the  enterprise  of  the  discoverer." 

THE   FACTS  IN  THE   CASE. 

Now,  with  this  record  already  made  up,  it  may  be  rash  in  me 
to  dispute  the  validity  of  Captain  Glazier's  claim.  He  has  filed 
a  general  caveat,  and  it  has  been  very  commonly  conceded  to 
make  good  his  case.  The  letters-patent  of  greatness  have  already 
been  issued  to  him,  apparently  from  the  highest  authorities. 


< 


*'  The  origin  of  the  river  in  the  remote  and  unfrequented  region  of  country 
between  Leech  Lake  and  Red  River,  not  less  than  an  entire  degree  of  latitude 
south  of  Turtle  Lake,  which  was  for  many  years  regarded  as  the  source,  throws 
both  forks  of  the  stream  out  of  the  usual  route  of  the  fur  trade,  and  furnishes, 
perhaps,  the  best  reason  why  itb  head  has  remained  so  long  enveloped  in  ob- 
scurity. 

"  I  take  the  liberty  of  inclosing  herewith  a  map  showing  my  route  and  the 
true  source  of  the  Mississippi. 

•'To  THE  SECRETAaY,    ROYAL  GEOGRAPHICAL  SOCIETY. 
"Milwaukee,  Wisconsin,  June  17,  1884." 


CAPTAIN  GLAZIER  AND  HIS  LAKE. 


i 


16 


However,  to  begin  with,  it  may  be  well  to  state  a  few  facts, 
most  of  which  will  be  news  to  Captain  Glazier : 

First. — "Lake  Glazier"  is  in  reality  Elk  Lake,  as  laid  down 
on  the  map  of  the  United  States  General  Land  Office.* 

Elk  Lake  lies  mainly  iu  Section  22  of  Township  No.  143 
North,  Kange  36  West  of  the  5th  Principal  Meridian,  the  same 
being  in  the  State  of  Minnesota.  The  lake  lies  south  of  the 
south-west  arm  of  Lake  Itasca,  witli  which  it  is  connected  by  a 
small  stream  about  400  feet  long.  An  eighth  of  a  mile  to  the 
west  of  this  stream  the  distance  between  the  marshy  borders  of 
Lake  Itasca  and  Elk  Lake  is  scarcely  more  than  100  feet. 

Elk  Lake  is  1^  miles  long,  |  of  a  mile  wide,  and  its  circum- 


*  Regarding  the  identity  of  "  Lalie  Glazier  "  and  Elk  Lake  it  is  needless  to 
argue.  A  comparison  of  the  maps  of  Glazier  and  the  Land  Office  Surveyors 
(see  next  page)  will  satisfy  any  one  on  this  point.  Glazier's  description  fits 
Elk  Lake  and  no  other  in  that  whole  region.  The  following  description  of  the 
lake,  by  a  member  of  Captain 
Glazier's  own  party,  Mr.  Bart- 


"J 


LAKE  ITASCA 

AND  VICINITY 
Jnom  Cayl.  QUuitf't  larg*  tnap. 


lett  Channing  Paine,  in  a  let- 
ter to  the  St,  Paul  "  Pioneer- 
Press,"  dated  August  8,  1881, 
applies  to  Elk  Lake,  and  to 
that  alone  : 

"  We  started  for  the  upper 
end  of  the  lake  [ItascaJ  early 
next  morning,  finding,  when 
we  reached  it  that  it  terminated 
in  bulrushes  and  what  seemed 
to  be  a  swamp.  Our  guide, 
however,  took  us  through  the 
rushes,  and  we  found  that  a 
small  but  swift  stream  entered 
here,  up  which  with  difficulty 
we  pushed  our  canoes.  This 
stream  w  about  half  a  mile 
long,  and  flows  from  one  of 
the  prettiest  lakes  we  have  seen 
on  our  trip.  The  shores  are 
high  rather  than  marshy,  and 
covered  with  verdure ;  and  the 
lake,  which  is  nearly  round, 
its  regularity  being  broken  by 
but  one  point,  has  a  greatest  diameter  of  a  mile  and  a  half,  or  perhaps  two 
miles.  Into  this  lake  flow  three  small  streams,  which  rise  in  marshy  ground 
from  a  mile  to  three  miles  from  the  lake." 


BANGE  No.  36,  WEST,  5tTi  MERIDIAN. 


MAP  OF  LAKE  ITASCA  AND  ELK  LAKE, 

AND    VICINITY. 

Rednee<1  from  fnc-simllo  trarlntr?  of  maps  of  the  Burvevs  mode  In  October,  1876,  and  depo9it<'rt  in  tUo 
cicnerolLoii '  umcoatWasblugtuu,  l'Vbruat7(1876.   Edwui  S.Uau<  amu  Assistakis,  Svkvktors. 


CAPTAIN  GLAZIER  AND  HIS  LAKE. 


17 


m 


forence,  as  meandered  by  the  government  surveyors,  is  just  240 
chains,  or  3  miles. 

Second. — Elk  Lake  was  surveyed  and  definitely  outlined  by 
Surveyor  Edwin  S.  Hall  and  his  assistants,  who  spent  two  weeks 
in  the  survey  of  the  township  (36  square  miles),  from  October 
11  to  October  25.  1875. 

At  four  points,  where  the  margin  of  the  lake  is  intersected  by 
the  boundary-line  of  Section  22,  Mr.  Hall  placed  posts,  numbered 
in  their  order  2(3,  27,  28,  and  29 ;  and  these  posts  had  been  standing 
several  years  when  Captain  Glazier  "  discovered  "  the  lake  in  1881. 

The  map  of  the  township  was  completed  and  certified  as  cor- 
rect, February  3,  1876,  by  Surveyor-General  J.  11.  Baker,  of  the 
St.  Paul  Land  Office.  It  was  by  him  transmitted  to  the  General 
Land  Olfice  at  Washington,  where  it  was  received  February  19, 
1870.  Finally,  it  was  officially  verified  and  posted  May  3,  1876, 
since  which  date  it  has  been  accessible  as  public  property  to  any 
citizen  of  the  LTnited  States  who  chose  lo  ask  for  it.  If  Cap- 
tain Glazier  had  sent  three  dollars  to  the  Commissioner  of  the 
General  Land  Office  he  would  have  received  a  fac-siniilc  tracing 
of  this  map,  certified  to  bo  correct;  and  thus  he  might  have 
discovered  "Lake  Glazier,"  and  saved  $9,997  of  the  $10,000 
which  his  friends  say  he  expended  on  this  expedition,  for  the 
love  of  science  and  the  glory  of  Captain  Willard  Glazier. 

Third. — "  The  first  white  man  who  is  known  to  have  visited 
Lake  Itasca  was  Wm.  Morrison,"  an  explorer  and  Indian  trader, 
in  the  employ  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company,  and  afterward  of 
Lord  Selkirk,  who  ascended  the  main  stream  of  the  Mississippi 
and  spent  the  winter  of  1803-1801:  in  the  vicinity  of  Lake  Itasca, 
then  called  Elk  Lake.* 

*  "iMinnesota  Geol.  Survey— Final  Report,"  vol.  i.,  p.  20.  The  title  of 
Morrison  is  based  on  letters  from  himself  and  his  brother,  Allan  Morrison,  lirst 
published  in  IS.'iO.  Sec  "  Minnesota  Historical  Collections,"  vol.  i.,  p.  417,  etc. 
The  statements  of  the  brothers  Morrison  have  generally  beep  received  without 
question  by  scientists  ami  geographers  in  Mi:inesota  ;  and  in  his  letter  Allan 
Morrison  expresses  surprise  that  any  one  should  be  ignorant  of  the  title  of  his 
brother  to  the  discovery  of  Itasca  prior  to  Schoolcraft.  It  is  a  curious  fact, 
ho-vever,  that  Allan  Morrison  acted  as  guide  for  Charles  Lannian  for  a  number 
of  weeks  in  1846,  during  which  time  they  visited  Itasca  Lake  ;  and  that  Lan- 
raan,  in  his  publisiied  account  of  the  trip,  nowhere  mentions  Wm.  Morrison,  or 
intimates  that  he  was  ever  at  the  source  of  the  Mississippi,  but  definitely 
ascribes  the  discovery  to  Schoolcraft  in  1833.  See  Lanman's  "  Adventures  in 
the  Wilderness,"  vol.  L,  pages  48,  75,  etc.  I  venture  the  opinion  that  Morrison 
2 


18 


CAPTAIN  OLAZTER  AND  HIS  LAKE. 


LAKE   ITASCA 

From  Sketch  or  Lieut.  Allin,  To»o<iNAPMiii  op  School- 
cn«rr'i  Expcdition  op  1813. 

n~A,  thi>  rnuti!  of  the  Eli|i«<llU»ii  thr<iui;h  Ui«  Lkku. 
C,  Scbculcratt'i  Ulanil. 

Ikaki  alMatlBltolsHiliioh. 


Fourth. — Itasca  Lake  was  visited  in  1832  by  Henry  Rowe 
Schoolcraft  and  his  party.  They  entered  the  lake  at  the  head 
of  the  south-eastern  arm,  the  afternoon  of  July  12,  1832,  and  left 
it  early  the  next  day  by  its  outlet  (the  Mississippi  River),  at  the 
extremity  of  the  northern  ann.  They  did  not  explore  at  all  the 
south-western  arm,*  and  so  did   not  go  near  Elk  Lake.     But 

first  idontiflod  his  Elk  Lake  of  1804  with  Sclioolcraft's  Itasca  •wlion  ho  read 
Sohooloraft's  "Summary  Narrative"  (1855)  ;  and  that  it  is  safe  to  say  that  if 
JMorrison  discovered  Lake  Itasca,  Schoolcraft  discovered  Morrison. 

*  There  is  no  statement  to  this  effect  in  Schoolcraft's  report,  but  a  eomparl- 
Sdii  of  Lieutenant  Allen's  map  with  that  of  the  government  sur\'eyors  nmst 
satisfy  any  one  that  the  drawing  of  the  south-western  arm  was  made  from  the 
crude  delineations  of  Indian  guides.  The  south-eastern  and  northern  parts  of 
the  lake  are  in  remarkable  accord  with  the  actual  surveys  of  1875.  The  south- 
western arm  is  so  very  inaccurate  in  Lieutenant  Allen's  drawing  that  it  is  cer- 
tain, if  any  of  the  party  visited  it,  ho  must  have  been  one  of  the  guides  sent 
merely  to  see  if  there  was  an  inlet,  and  to  report  on  its  size,  etc.  This  much, 
but  not  more,  might  be  inferred  from  Schoolcraft's  comparison  of  the  volume 
of  water  discharged  by  the  lake  with  that  received  through  its  inlet.  See 
♦'Schoolcraft's  Narrative,"  1834,  p.  58. 


■**s 


\ 


CAPTAIX  OLAZIKR  AND  HIS  LAKE. 


19 


47-«) 


LAKE  ITASCA 


AND  VICINITY. 
Fit'»M  Niroi.i.ETN  Map,  NOW  pKPrwintn  iv  -nii 

GaNBBAL  LaNI>  OfKK  Kf   WAHItlMiTON,   I),  C. 

Scale:  V"  milefl  to  an  inch. 


Lieutenant  Allen,  the  topographer  of  the  party,  drew  a  map  of 
Itasca  Lake  from  liis  own  observations  an«l  tlie  reports  of  the 
Indian  guides;  and  this  map  shows  a  south-  ^ern  arm  much 
shorter  tlian  tlio  reality,  but  ending  in  a  nearly  circular  extension, 
connected  with  the  main  lake  by  a  narrow  channel. 

Fiftli. — Mr.  Jean  N.  Nicollet,  a  distinguished  French  scholar 
and  ex})lorer,  in  July,  1830,  S])ent  three  days  cxj)loring  the 
country  to  the  south  (^f  the  south-western  arm  of  Lake  Itasca. 
His  map  of  the  Upper  Mississip])i  country,  now  deposited  in 
the  General  Land  Oilice,  a  copy  of  which  was  published  by  the 
government  with  his  report,  is  on  a  very  small  scale,  and  does 
not  show  any  lake  corresponding  to  Elk  Lake;  but,  fortunately, 
among  Nicollet's  notes  and  papers  in  the  olUce  of  the  Chief  of 
Engineers  of  the  United  States  Army,  at  "Washington,  there  lias 
been  found  a  map  of  the  sources  of  the  Mississippi  and  Hod 
Eiver  of  the  North,  and  this  map  is  on  a  much  larger  scale, 
clearly  showing  Elk  Lake  in  the  very  location  where  the  gov- 


* 


LAKE   ITASCA 

AND  VICINITY. 


Chipcway  Ldke^ 
7?raver3  or 


Enifravod  from  ft  fuculnillo  traclnflrof  NMcollofB 
Map  (18;k-:!7)  now  (l<'iN>Hit<Mi  in  tin-  ofiicu  of  tbo  PcmUULL 

ChlefofEnglmt'rn,U.8.A.,Wiuihlngton,D.C. 

Scale;  mime  <m  original  map. 


S.«x«>""'i|», 


^JV  JV' 


:« 


'k 


CAPTAiy  O LAZIER  AND  HIS  LAKE. 


21 


• 


ernment  surveyors  and  Captain  Glazier  found  it.  There  is  no 
mistaking  its  identity.  It  is  tliero,  even  to  the  three  feeders 
wiiieh  Captain  Ohizier  found.*  It  is  evident,  however,  that 
Nieollct  rc^farded  the  hike  as  of  minor  importanee,  not  giving  it 
any  sc[)arato  name,  but  rather  considering  it  an  extonsiou  of  the 
larger  lake,  Itaseiu 

Hixth. — In  June,  1872,  Mr.  Julius  ChamLera,  a  staff  corre- 
spondent of  the  "  New  York  Herald,"  visited  Lake  Itasca  and 
explored  that  lake  and  its  borders.  On  June  10  he  ascended 
one  of  the  feeders  of  the  south-western  arm  of  the  lake.  After 
going  a  distance  which  he  estimated  at  about  a  third  of  a  mile  he 
came  to  a  small  lake,  a  quarter  of  a  mile  in  width,  and,  incb^ding 
a  floating  bog  at  its  southern  end,  ])robably  a  mile  or  more  in 
length.  The  land  separating  this  lake  froni  Lake  Itasca  he  found 
to  be  a  low  tamarack  swamp.  If  the  nuip  of  the  government 
surveyors  is  correct,  this  lake  found  by  Mr.  Chandlers  is  no 
other  than  Elk  Lake.  His  sketchf  of  the  two  lakes  is  certainly 
inaccurate  in  detail,  but  I  think  it  will  satisfy  any  one  that  he 
found  the  original  of  "  Lake  Glazier ; "  and  it  is  just  what  it 
professes  to  be,  the  rough  note-book  drawing  of  a  canoeist,  made 
from  memory  after  a  day's  hard  paddling  and  tramping,  when  a 
hard  way  seemed  a  long  way,  and  an  easy  pull  measured  a  short 
distance. 

Seventh. — In  the  year  1880  Mr.  O.  E.  Garrison,  of  St  Cloud, 
Minn.,  visited  the  sources  of  the  Mississippi,  under  joint  instruc- 
tions from  the  Superintendent  of  the  Tenth  Census  of  the  United 
States  and  the  Director  of  the  Geological  Survey  of  Minnesota. 
He  proceeded  from  the  south  across  the  height  of  land,  a  route 
different  from  that  of  either  Morriso.i,  Schoolcraft,  Nicollet,  or 
Chambers.  July  29  he  encamped  on  the  stream  described  by 
Nicollet  as  the  real  upper  course  of  the  Mississippi ;  July  30  he 
encamped  on  the  south-western  shore  of  Elk  Lake ;  July  31  he 
sailed  through  Elk  Lake  and  into  Lake  Itasca,  and  on  that  night 


% 


*  A  facsimile  engraving  of  a  part  of  this  larger  map  of  Nicollet's  is  given 
herewith.  I  do  not  know  that  it  has  ever  before  been  published,  or  that  its 
existence  among  Nicollet's  papers  has  been  generally  known. 

f  Some  time  after  the  most  of  this  paper  was  in  type  I  learned  the  name 
and  address  of  the  "  Herald  "  correspondent  of  1873.  Mr.  Chambers  at  once 
kindly  placed  his  notes  at  ray  service,  and  a  copy  of  his  note-book  map  is  hero 
reproduced  for  the  first  time.    See  next  page. 


CAPTAIN  OLAZIER  AND  UIS  LAKE, 


23 


and  the  night  Huccccding  lio  encamped  on  the  west  shore  of 
Itasca.  Ill  all  lie  spent  about  two  weeks  exploring  the  two 
townships,  Nos.  M2  and  143,  N.,  \l  30:  an<l  this  in  July,  18.^^0, 
a  full  year  Ix^foro  Captain  Glazirr  discovered  his  lake. 

FJ;/Iit/i.~'S[v.  C.  M.  Terry,  who  made  a  close  j)ersonal  study 
of  the  water  systems  of  Minnesota  for  the  State  Geological  and 
Natural  History  Survey,  in  a  paper  on  the  Hydrology  of  Minne- 
sota,* writes  as  follows : 

•'Tlio  inlots  of  tho  lake  fltftspn)  Jirp  on  tho  shortor  or  south-wpst  nrm. 
Thoro  ftpp  flvo  of  thiMii.  Tliey  aro  .siiiall  Hlrciims  druiniii^  tlio  swamps  and 
HpringH  ill  tho  vicinity.  litsy  tlian  u  ({iiartcr  of  a  iiiil«>  soutii  of  tliu  soiitli- 
wt'st  arm  is  a  little  lake  callctl  Elk  Lake.  Il  has  an  area  of  alwiit  200  acres. 
It  is  a  niilu  lon^  and  half  a  niilu  wide.  It  is  a  tributary  of  Itasca  Lake, 
lliruiij^h  a  small  creek  wliieli  connects  them.  Klk  liake  has  two  or  tlirco 
small  streams  llowin/c  iirti)  it  from  the  south.  The  principal  stream  tribu- 
tary to  Ita.sca  Lake,  directly,  also  flows  from  the  south,  and  is  three  or  fuur 
miles  in  length.  It  irt  rather  a  rctlnement  of  exactness  to  call  Elk  Lake,  <i,h 
Home  explorciH  have,  the  ultimate  source  of  the  Missis.sippl.  Itasca  I.,ake  has 
been  in  possession  of  tho  honor  so  hmg  that  its  claim  j)uyht  not  to  be  dis- 
puted, and  certainly  it  is  sulliciently  minute,  reniutu,  and  sylvan  tu  answer 
all  the  requirements  of  an  ideal  source." 

So,  a  year  before  Glazier's  expedition,  Mr.  Terry  had  already 
found  "  some  explorers  "'  who  sought  to  dignify  Elk  Lake  at  the 
exi)ensc  of  Itasca.  But  there  is  no  need  of  further  enumeration 
of  Glazier's  predecessors,  f 

Ninth. — Elk  Lake  is  the  name  originally  applied  to  tho  whole 
of  Lake  Itasca.  The  Indians  called  it  ^'' Omushh'Js^\,  which  is  the 
Chippewa  name  of  the  elk."  "The  Canadian  French  call  this 
animal  la  Biche,  from  Biche,  a  hind,"  and  the  French-Indian  guides 
in  the  service  of  the  old  fur  com})anies  called  the  lake  Jmc  la 
Biche.^  The  name  Itasca  was  coined  by  Mr.  Schoolcraft  for  the 
occasion,  from  the  Latin  words  wriTAS  CAput,  the  true  source. 


*  "  Ninth  Annual  Report  of  tho  Geological  and  Natural  Uistory  Survey  of 
Minnesota,"  1880,  p.  231. 

f  Among  these  predecessors  miglit  bo  named,  Charles  Lanman  in  1846  ; 
Rev.  Mr.  Ayer  and  his  son,  Lyraan  Ayer  (now  residing  at  Little  Falls,  Minn.), 
in  1849  ;  Mr.  Wm.  Bangs,  of  White  Earth,  Minn.,  in  1865  ;  Mr.  W.  E.  Ncal, 
of  Minneapolis,  Minn.,  in  1880  and  again  in  1881  ;  the  Rev.  J.  B.  Gillillan,  of 
While  Earth,  Minn.,  in  May,  1881  ;  and  a  number  of  others. 

X  "  Schoolcraft's  Summary  Narrative,"  Philadelphia,  1855,  p.  243. 

g  "Schoolcraft's  Summary  Narrative,"  Philadelphia,  1855,  p.  132, 


24 


S 


II 


*i 


CAPTAIN  GLAZIER  AND  HIS  LAKE. 
THE  NATURE   OF  THE  ITASCAN   REGION. 


From  the  above  facts  the  natural  inference  is  that  Mr. 
Schoolcraft,  Lieutenant  Allen,  Mr.  Nicollet,  and  the  Indian 
guides  and  voyageurs  of  their  day  found  Elk  Lake  and  Lake 


ITASCA  LAKE  AND  ELK  LAKE 

FROM     THE    SURVEYS     OF     THE     GOVERNMENT     LAND 
DEPARTMENT.        187B. 

Scale:  1  mile  to  an  inch. 


Itasca  to  be  closely  connected  bodies  of  water,  and  that  the 
minor  lake  still  retains  the  name  of  Elk  Lake  by  reason  of  its 
having  been  at  one  time  practically  continuous  with  Lake 
Itasca. 

Further,  all  travelers  in  this  region  report  a  large  number  of 
lakes  and  ponds  without  any  visible  outlet,  and  streams  and  lakes 


n 


t 


11 


CAPTAIN  GLAZIER  AND  HIS  LAKE. 


25 


^ 


;s 


f 


that  Nicollet  reported  as  existing  in  1836,  either  do  not  appear  on 
the  government  maps,  or  their  proportions  aro  much  reduced  and 
they  have  ceased  to  be  connected  with  each  other.  After  maki ng  all 
necessary  allowance  for  the  fact  that  the  Government  Land-Oftice 
maps  do  not  assume  to  follow  up  minor  streams,  and  do  not  give 
the  outlines  or  dimensions  of  lakes  which  are  not  intersected  by 
the  boundary-lines  of  sections,  it  still  remains  probable  that  there 
has  been  a  considerable  decrease  in  the  amount  of  natural  water 
supply  during  the  past  fifty  years,  and  a  consequent  subsidence 
of  the  water-level  in  many  of  the  lakes  ca  the  higher  slopes  of 
the  heights  of  land  in  Minnesota.  This  would  naturally  affect 
first  the  springs  and  ponds  that  feed  the  lakes,  and  finally  the 
lakes  themselves,  which  form  the  first  reservoirs  of  the  waters  of 
the  Mississippi.  On  the  other  hand,  the  growth  of  any  natural 
obstruction  across  the  outlet  of  a  marshy  pond  or  spring  would 
have  the  effect  of  spreading  it  out  into  a  broad,  shallow  lakelet. 
Mr.  Garrison,  in  his  report  to  the  State  Geologist,  speaks  of 
coming  upon  the  beds  of  dried-up  ponds  and  streams,  and  also 
of  finding  no  outlet  to  lakes  that  had  evidently  been  formerly 
drained.  The  lakes  in  Sees.  33  and  34,  Tp.  143,  and  in  Sees. 
3  and  4,  Tp.  142,  which  he  says  were  "  marked  on  the  old  maps 
as  having  an  outlet  to  the  north  and  being  therefore  the  ultimate 
sources  of  the  Mississippi,"  were  carefully  explored  by  him,  and 
no  outlet  was  found  in  any  direction.  If  these  two  lakes  ever 
belonged  to  the  Itasca  basin,  and  had  a  free  outlet  to  the  north- 
ward, they  were  much  smaller  than  they  now  appear,  while  the 
lake  below,  on  the  stream  shown  in  the  N.  W.  quarter  of  Sec. 
34,  Tp.  143,  was  correspondingly  larger.  But  this  latter  pond, 
when  Mr.  Garrison  saw  it,  was  the  head  of  the  "largest  feeder 
to  Lake  Itasca,  worthy  to  be  considered  as  the  utmost  source  of 
the  Mississippi."  *  Thus  many  changes  have  evidently  occurred 
in  this  region,  and  probably  some  very  important  ones,  within  the 
past  fifty  years,  since  Nicollet's  explorations  in  1836. 

Mr.  Chambers  did  not  make  any  careful  observations  with 
reference  to  this  question,  but  he  informs  me  that  there  are  many 

*  "  There  are  several  streams  entering  the  lake  [Itasca]  which  have  dis- 
puted the  right  to  be  the  extreme  source.  The  one  adopted  by  Nicollet 
and  by  mo  in  the  preceding  narrative  is  the  largest  feeder  of  the  lake,  and 
should  have  the  name."— 0.  E.  Garrison,  in  "Ninth  Annual  Report  of  the 
State  Geological  Survey  of  Minnesota,"  for  the  year  1880,  pp.  219,  230. 


20 


CAPTAIN  GLAZIER  AND  HIS  LAKE. 


places  wlicre  a  week  of  rainy  weatlier  would  change  entirely  the 
outline  of  many  of  the  lakes  throughout  this  region,  and  that 
Elk  and  Itasca  lakes  may  easily  have  been  one  continuous  body 
of  water  years  ago. 

This  digression  simply  proves  that  there  is  in  reality  an  un- 
solved problem  regarding  the  head-waters  of  the  Mississippi  and 
Lake  Itasca.  The  manifest  discrepancies  between  the  accounts 
and  maps  of  Schoolcraft  (Lieut.  Allen),  Nicollet,  and  the  govern- 
ment surveyors  show  this  ;  but  Captain  Glazier  lost  sight  of  it 
entirely.  Had  he  been  a  genuine  devotee  of  science,  had  he  ever 
made  anything  like  a  careful  study  of  the  problem  he  was  under- 
taking to  solve,  he  would  have  informed  himself  as  to  the  real 
state  of  knowledge  on  the  subject  before  starting  out  on  his  fool's 
errand  to  the  wilds  of  Minnesota 

Captain  Glazier's  information  in  regard  to  Mississippi  explo- 
ration seems  to  have  begun  and  ended  with  what  he  could  glean 
from  Schoolcraft's  narratives  of  his  various  expeditions  of  fifty 
years  before.  How  well  he  studied  them  and  how  freely  he  maue 
use  of  them  I  may  be  able  to  show  farther  on  in  this  pajDcr. 


' 


m 


p 


1- 


MORE   FACTS. 

In  passing,  it  may  be  well  to  state  two  other  matters  of  fact 
for  the  information  of  Captain  Glazier,  to  wit : 

Tenth. — Mr.  Chambers  made  the  trip  of  the  entire  length  of 
the  Mississippi  River,  from  the  sources  of  Elk  Lake  to  the  Gulf 
of  Mexico,  at  the  South-west  Pass,  going  as  far  as  Quincy,  111., 
in  his  canoe,  and  the  rest  of  the  way  by  steamer,  but  every  mile 
of  the  way  by  water. 

Eleventh. — (And  this  will  tax  Captain  Glazier's  credulity  most 
of  all)  Mr.  Chambers  did  not  make  any  stump  speech  ;  did  not  rate 
himself  a  great  discoverer  ;  made  no  appeal  to  the  Geographical 
Societies  of  the  world;  did  not  call  his  lake,  Lake  Chambers, 
but  simple  Dolly  Varden  (after  the  name  of  his  canoe) ;  made  no 
addresses ;  was  greeted  by  no  brass  bands ;  and  did  not  finally 
receive  the  freedom  of  the  city  of  New  Orleans  or  the  honors  of 
its  Academy  of  Sciences ;  but  his  letters  are  to  be  found  in  the 
"  Herald  "  of  June  20,  27,  July  2,  6,  0,  13,  22,  and  27,  1872,  the 
one  in  the  issue  of  July  6  being  devoted  to  the  exploration  of 
Elk  Lake. 


CAPTAIN  GLAZIER  AND  HIS  LAKE. 


27 


JEAN  NICOLAS  NICOLLET. 

But  it  is  of  the  first  importance  to  any  one  pretending  to  a 
knowledge  of  the  Upper  Mississippi,  to  know  something  of  Mr.  J. 
N.  Nicollet,  wlio  devoted  tlie  last  and  best  years  of  bis  life  to  the 
exploration  of  the  liydrographic  basin  of  that  river. 

Jean  Nicolas  Nicollet  was  born  at  CI  uses,  France,  in  July, 
1786.  A  favorite  pupil  of  the  great  La})lace,  he  early  distin- 
guished himself  as  an  original  observer  and  student.  His  works, 
published  in  France  before  he  came  to  this  country,  were  of  high 
merit.  In  1832  he  came  to  the  United  States  for  the  purpose,  as 
he  tells  us,  "of  making  a  scientific  tour  and  with  the  view  of  con- 
tributing to  the  progressiva  increase  of  knowledge  in  the  physical 
geography  of  North  America."  His  first  tour  was  to  the  west- 
ern affluents  of  the  Mississippi,  whose  head-w^aters  he  explored. 
Thence  he  proceeded  to  the  Upper  Mississippi,  and  there  de- 
cided to  visit  the  source  of  that  river.  Mr.  Nicollet  reached  Lake 
Itasca  late  in  August,  1836,  and  spent  three  days  in  thoroughly 
exploring  the  country  for  miles  around.  His  account  of  this  trip 
is  embodied  in  a  report  to  Colonel  J.  J.  Abert,  Chief  of  the 
Corps  of  Topographical  Engineers  of  the  Army,  made  after  a 
second  visit  to  the  Upper  Mississippi.  Mr.  Nicollet  had  re- 
turned to  the  East  somewhat  broken  in  health,  and  was  resting 
with  friends  in  Baltimore,  when,  in  April,  1838,  he  received  the 
invitation  from  the  War  Department  to  conduct  an  expedition 
for  the  fuller  survey  of  the  Mississippi  Valley.  He  accordingly 
returned  and  spent  a  part  of  two  years  following  in  the  same 
region. 

In  the  2d  Session  of  the  26th  Congress,  the  Senate  ordered 
the  map  and  report  of  Mr.  Nicollet  completed  and  printed.  The 
failing  health  of  the  explorer  made  this  w^ork  slow  and  arduous, 
and  it  was  still  incomplete  when  he  died,  September  11,  IS-IS. 
A  note  appended  to  his  report,  bearing  date  September  13,  1813. 
says : 

"Thus  far  Mr.  Nicollet  had  written  when  death  put  an  end  to  his  labors, 
and  before  he  had  bc:n  able  to  revise  his  report,  which  had  been  returned  to 
him  for  that  purpose,  and  also  to  add  the  astronomical  observations  upon  which 
liis  calculations  were  founded.  These  observations  form  parts  of  his  journals, 
which  are  to  be  deposited  in  the  Bureau  of  the  Corps  of  Topographical  En- 
gineers." 

It  is  to  be  regretted  that  Mr.  Nicollet  did  not  live  to  finish 


28 


CAPTAIN  GLAZIER  AND  HIS  LAKE. 


and  correct  his  report,  but  the  report,  as  he  left  it,  was  duly 
published  as  Executive  Document  No.  237  of  the  2d  Session, 
26th  Congress,  and  copies  are  undoubtedly  to  be  found  in  many 
of  the  public  libraries  of  the  country.* 

With  these  preliminary  observations  I  now  propose  to  quote 
from  Mr.  Nicollet's  report  such  parts  as  relate  to  his  trip  to  the 
source  of  the  Mississippi.  I  begin  these  quotations  at  the  point 
where  he  decides  to  leave  the  Mississippi  at  Crow  Wing  Riverf 
and  go  across  the  country  to  Leech  Lake  on  his  way  to  Itasca. 

AT  ELK  LAKE  IN  1836. 

**  On  my  arrival  at  the  Crow  Wing  River,  I  could  not  but  reflect  that  the 
Mississippi  before  me  had  been  thoroughly  explored  during  the  expeditions  of 
Major  Pike,  General  Cass,  and  Mr.  Schoolcraft,  whose  accounts  were  very  gen- 
erally known  to  the  public.  I  thought,  therefore,  that  it  might  be  advisable 
to  attempt  another  route  across  the  country  ;  so  that,  leaving  the  Crow  Wing 
at  the  distance  of  three  miles  from  its  mouth,  I  ascended  the  Gayashk,  or  Gull 
River,  and  the  pretty  lake  having  the  same  name.  Thence  I  proceeded  as  far 
as  Pine  River,  taking  occasion  to  visit  Kadikomcg,  or  White  Fish  Lake  ;  then, 
again  ascending  the  east  fork  of  Pine  River,  I  reached  the  Kwiwisens,  or  Little 
Boy  River,  which  I  descended  through  a  succession  of  lakes,  and  over  small 
rapids,  as  far  as  Leech  Lake.  I  spent  a  week  on  the  borders  of  this  beautiful 
sheet  of  water,  my  tent  being  most  generally  pitched  on  Otter  Tail  Point. 
This  was  the  residence  of  my  principal  guide,  Francis  Brunet,  a  man  six  feet 
three  inches  high— a  giant  of  great  strength,  but,  at  the  same  time,  full  of  the 
milk  of  human  kindness,  and  withal,  an  excellent  natural  geographer.     .    .    . 

"  Having  lessened  my  equipage,  and  made  arrangements  to  proceed  to  the 
source  of  the  Mississippi,  I  left  Leech  Lake  in  a  bark  canoe  of  sufficient  size  to 
contain  my  histruments,  some  provisions,  and  three  persons  besides  myself, 
who  were  Desire,  Francis  Brunet,  and  a  respectable  Chippewa  named  Kegwed- 


*  "  Report  intended  to  Illustrate  a  Map  of  the  Hydrographic  Basin  of  the 
Upper  Mississippi  River,  made  by  J.  N.  Nicollet,  while  in  employ  under  the 
Bureau  of  the  Corps  of  Topographical  Engineei*s,"  Washington:  Blair  &  Rives, 
Printers.  1843.  This  report  and  the  accompanying  map  were  also  published 
by  order  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  in  the  2d  Session  of  the  28th  Con- 
gress, appearing  as  Executive  Document  No.  53.  As  indicating  the  lack  of 
proof-reading,  I  notice  that  in  the  report  Mr.  Nicollet's  name  is  always  printed 
/.  N.  Nicollet. 

f  Crow  Wing  River  is  but  a  few  miles  below  Brainerd,  where  Captain  Glazier 
also  left  the  Mississippi  for  Leech  Lake,  and  both  explorers  followed  nearly 
the  same  trail  from  Leech  Lake  to  Lake  Itasca.  However,  I  do  not  see  in  this 
or  in  Captain  Glazier's  account  anything  which  would  lead  me  to  suppose  that 
he  had  read  Nicollet's  report  before  starting  upon  his  trip.  In  fact,  the  ab- 
sence of  direct  appropriation  of  Nicollet's  language  leads  to  the  conclusion 
that  Captain  Glazier  wrote  in  entire  ignorance  of  his  predecessor's  work. 


CAPTAIN  GLAZIER  AND  HIS  LAKE. 


29 


zissag,  who  was  well  acquainted  with  the  wuntry  I  wished  to  visit,  and  which 
he  called  his  own,  as  he  was  in  the  habit  of  hunting  over  it. 

"  Leaving  Leech  Lake,  we  crossed  several  small  lakes,  and  reached  the  one 
called  Kal)ekonang,  the  name  being  derived  from  kobe,  to  disembark,  and 
mikan,  a  path  or  trail,  or,  in  its  full  meaning,  '  the  place  where  one  disembarks 
to  take  up  the  trail  or  route.'  Wo  ascended  the  river  which  bears  the  sarao 
name,  and,  flowing  in  a  narrow  and  deep  valley,  is  said  not  to  freeze  before 
January,  nor,  when  frozen,  to  thaw  until  July.     .    .     . 

"  From  the  sources  of  Kabekonang  (sometimes  shortly  called  Kabekona) 
we  made  a  portage  of  five  miles,  that  brought  us  to  the  River  La  Place,  which 
we  ascended  as  far  as  one  mile  south  of  Assawa  Lake,  where  we  found  a  circu- 
lar camp  used  four  years  previously  by  Mr.  Schoolcraft.  But  here  we  were 
assailed  by  swarms  of  mos(iuitoes,  that  came  pouring  upon  us  in  torrents;  so 
as,  at  three  different  times,  to  extinguish  the  lights  of  my  lanterns,  whilst  I 
was  making  my  astronomical  observations. 

"  The  next  morning  wo  were  up  at  half-past  four,  preparing  for  a  portage  of 
about  six  miles,  which  was  before  us,  and  was  to  bring  us  to  Itasca  Lake,  the 
principal  basin  on  the  head-waters  of  the  Mississippi,  as  well  as  the  projected 
terminus  of  my  excursion.     .     .     . 

"  I  shall  not  dwell  further  on  the  description  of  this  portage,  the  first  three 
miles  of  which,  including  a  momentary  rest  afforded  by  the  crossing  of  a  small 
lake,  were  attended  with  so  many  difficulties  that  it  took  me  five  hours  to 
achieve  that  which  my  men  went  over  in  three ;  the  last  three  miles  being 
over  a  succession  of  ascents  and  descents,  between  which  were  most  commonly 
sloughs.  The  soil  is  sandy  and  gravelly,  overspread  with  erratic  blocks  ;  but 
there  is  a  great  variety  of  evergreens,  and  they  are  larger  than  in  the  region 
previously  menaoned.  I  measured  the  elevation  of  the  most  prominent  ridges. 
The  last  in  the  series,  being  also  the  highest,  is  120  feet  above  tho  waters  of 
Lake  Itasca.  This  ridge,  with  a  rapid  descent,  led  us  to  the  borders  of  the 
lake,  where  1  took  a  barometrical  observation  at  noon. 

"My  next  move  was  to  pitch  my  tent  on  Schoolcraft's  Island.  The  staff, 
at  the  top  of  which  that  gentleman  informed  us  he  had  raiserl  the  American 
flag,  had  been  cut  down  by  tlie  Indians.  I  made  use  of  what  remained  of  it  to 
fix  upon  it  my  artificial  horizon,  and  immediately  proceeded  to  make  astronom- 
ical observations,  and  take  up  the  exploration  of  the  sources  of  the  Mississippi. 

"The  Mississippi  holds  its  own  from  its  very  origin;  for  it  is  not  necessary 
to  suppose,  as  has  been  done,  that  Lake  Itasca  may  be  supplied  with  invisible 
sources,  to  justify  the  character  of  a  remarkable  stream,  which  it  assumes  at 
its  issue  from  this  lake.  Tiiere  are  five  creeks  that  fall  into  it,  formed  by  innu- 
merable streamlets  oozing  from  the  elay-beds  at  the  bases  of  the  hills,  that  con- 
sist of  an  accumulation  of  sand,  gravel,  and  clay,  intermixed  with  erratic  frag- 
ments ;  being  a  more  prominent  portion  of  the  erratic  deposits  previously 
described,  and  which  here  is  known  by  the  name  of  '  Hauteurs  dos  Torres ' — 
heights  of  lend.     .     .     . 

"  The  waters  supplied  by  the  north  flank  of  these  heights  of  land— still  on 
the  south  side  of  Lake  Itasca — give  origin  to  the  five  creeks  of  which  I  have 
spoken  above.  These  are  the  waters  which  I  (nmsider  to  be  the  utmost  sources 
of  the  Mississippi.     .     .     . 

"  Now,  of  the  five  creeks  that  empty  into  Itasca  Lake,  one  empties  into  the 
east  bay  of  the  lake  ;  the  four  others  into  the  west  bay.     I  visited  the  whole  of 


80 


CAPTAIN  GLAZIER  AND  HIS  LAKE. 


thorn  ;  and  among  Iho  latter  there  is  one  remarkable  above  tho  others,  inas- 
much as  its  course  is  longer,  and  its  waters  more  abundant ;  so  that,  in  obedi- 
ence to  the  geographical  rule,  '  that  the  sources  of  a  river  are  those  that 
are  most  distant  from  its  mouth,' this  creek  is  truly  the  infant  Mississippi; 
all  others  IxjIow,  its  feeders  and  tributaries.  The  day  on  which  I  explored  this 
principal  creek  (August  21),  1836),  I  judged  that,  at  its  entrance  into  Itasca 
Lake,  its  bed  was  from  fifteen  to  twenty  feet  wide,  and  the  depth  of  water  from 
two  to  three  fe(!t.  Wo  stemmed  its  pretty  brisk  current  during  ten  or  twenty 
minutes  ;  but  the  obstructions  occasioned  by  the  fall  of  trees  compelled  us  to 
abandon  the  canoe  and  to  seek  its  springs  on  foot,  along  tho  hills.  After  a 
walk  of  three  miles,  during  which  we  took  care  not  to  lose  siglit  of  the  Missis- 
sippi, my  guides  informed  mo  thut  it  was  better  to  descend  into  tho  trough  of 
the  valley  ;  when,  accordingly,  we  found  numberless  streamlets  oozing  from 
the  bases  of  the  hills.     .     .     . 

"  As  a  further  description  of  these  head-waters,  I  may  add  that  they  unite 
at  a  small  distance  from  the  hills  whence  they  originate,  and  form  a  small  lake, 
from  whence  the  Mississippi  flows  with  a  breadth  of  a  foot  and  a  half,  and  a 
depth  of  one  foot.  At  no  great  distance,  however,  this  rivulet,  uniting  itself 
with  other  streamlets  coming  from  other  directions,  supplies  a  second  minor 
lake.     .     .     . 

"From  this  lake  issues  a  ri\nilet,  necessarily  of  increased  importance — a 
cradled  Hercules,  giving  promise  of  the  strength  of  his  maturity  ;  for  its  ve- 
locity  has  increased  ;  it  transports  the  smaller  branches  of  trees  ;  it  begins  to 
form  sand-bars;  its  bends  are  more  decided,  until  it  subsides  again  into  the 
basin  of  a  third  lake  somewhat  larger  than  tho  two  preceding.  Having  here 
acquired  new  vigor,  and  tried  its  consequence  upon  an  additional  length  of  two 
or  three  miles,  it  finally  empties  into  Itasca  Lake,  which  is  the  principal  reser- 
voir of  all  the  sources  to  which  it  owes  all  its  subsequent  majesty.     .     .     . 

"  The  honor  of  having  first  explored  the  sources  of  the  Mississippi,  and  in- 
troduced a  knowledge  of  them  into  physical  geography,  belongs  to  Mr.  School- 
craft and  Lieutenant  Allen.  I  come  only  after  these  gentlemen  ;  but  I  may 
be  permitted  to  claim  some  merit  for  having  completed  what  was  wanting  for 
a  full  geographical  account  of  these  sources.  Moreover,  I  am,  I  believe,  the 
first  traveler,  who  has  carried  with  him  astronomical  instruments,  and  put 
them  to  profitable  account  along  the  whole  course  of  the  Mississippi,  frora  its 
mouth  to  its  sources.     .     .     . 

"After  having  devoted  three  days  to  an  exploration  of  the  sources  of  the 
Mississippi,  and  spent  portions  of  the  night  in  making  astronomical  observa- 
tions, I  took  leave  of  Itasca  Lake,  to  the  examination  of  which  the  expedition 
that  preceded  me  by  four  years  had  devoted  but  a  short  time.'' 

SCnOOLCRAFT  AND  NICOLLET. 


Siicli  is  tlie  simple,  modest  account  of  a  true  scientist,  a 
genuine  explorer.  How  refreshing  it  reads  after  the  noisy  self- 
advertising  of  tlie  modern  charlatan  !  Certainly  this  expedition 
of  Nicollet's  should  not  have  been  unknown  to  a  man  who  had 
been  studying  the  problem  of  the  Mississippi  for  years,  and  was 


CAPTAIN  GLAZIER  AND  HIS  LAKE. 


81 


willing  to  f^ivc  his  lifo  to  tlio  solution  of  its  mystery.  But  Cap- 
tain Glazier  seems  never  to  have  read  anything  more  reccni  than 
Mr.  Sehoolcraft's  narrative  of  the  expedition  of  1832,  for  Jio  re- 
gards him  as  the  last  of  his  predecessors  at  Lake  Itasca.  Here 
is  the  way  he  commiserates  Schoolcraft  on  his  failure.  I  quote 
from  *'  Sword  and  Pen,"  })agcs  472,  473 : 

"  Much  astonishment  was  expressed  by  those  of  the  party  who  were  aware 
of  Schoolcraft's  expedition  of  IS'-Vi,  tliat  he  should  have  missed  finding  this 
lake,  so  closely  conn(>ctcd  with  Itasca,  and  various  were  the  surmises  as  to  the 
cause  of  this  remarkable  ovcrsiglit.  ...  By  far  the  most  probable  theoiy, 
however,  was  advanced  by  Captain  Glazier,  who  stated,  quoting  School- 
craft himself  as  authority,  that  when  he  reached  Itasca  he  was  too  much 
hurried  to  make  a  thorough  exploration.  IIo  had  an  engagement  to  meet 
some  Indians  in  council  at  the  mouth  of  the  Crow  Wing  River,  fully  seven 
days'  journey  from  this  point,  and  he  did  not  have  more  than  seven  days  to  do 
it  in.  .  .  .  Ho  Tievcr  saw  tlie  beautiful  lake  to  the  south  of  Itasca,  fed  Ijy 
the  springs  and  streams  of  the  marshes  which  gave  birth  to  the  infant  Missis- 
sippi. 

"Therefore  he  could  not  know  that  Itasca  was  but  an  expansion  of  the 
stream,  like  other  lakes,  in  its  onward  course,  a  sudden  growth,  as  it  were,  which 
gave  promise  of  the  vast  proportions  the  mighty  giant  would  hereafter  assume. 
There  woidd  be  something  almost  sad  in  his  coming  so  near  and  yet  missing 
the  mark  at  which  he  had  aimed,  if  it  were  not  that  ho  lived  and  died  in  the 
belief  that  he  was  right  in  the  assertion  that  the  Father  of  Waters  rose  in  the 
lake  which  he,  oddly  enough,  named  Itasca." 

Not  too  fast,  Ca})tain  Glazier.  Mr.  Schoolcraft  was  not  a 
mere  superficial  adventurer;  and  he  lived  down  to  the  year  of 
grace  1864.  So  it  is  safe  to  say  he  knew  all  about  Mr.  Nicollet 
and  the  remoter  sources  of  the  Mississippi,  far  more,  indeed,  than 
did  Captain  Glazier,  even  after  his  wonderful  exploring  expedi- 
tion. This  would  go  without  proof,  hut  the  proof  is  easily  to  ho 
had.  If  Captain  Glazier  will  refer  to  Mr.  Schoolcraft's  "  Summary 
Narrative"  of  his  two  expeditions  to  the  head-waters  of  the  Mis- 
sissii)pi,^''  he  will  find  evidence  of  this  in  abundance.  lie  will  find 
reference  to  Mr.  Nicollet  in  the  text  and  in  foot-notes  on  pages 
viii.,  ix.,  128,  133,  130,  142,  154,  244,  267,  and  328.  Further- 
more, on  pages  582-580,  Mr.  Schoolcraft  gives  in  full  the  Table 
of  Oeograpliical  Positions  on  the  Mississippi  BiveVj  observed  in  1836, 
by  J,  N.  Nicollet.     The  last  item  in  this  table  gives  the  distance 

*  "  Summary  Narrative  of  an  Exploratory  Plxpcdition  to  the  Source  of  the 
Mississippi  River,  in  1830  :  Revised  and  Completed  by  the  Discover)  of  its  Ori- 
gin in  Itasca  Lake,  in  1832."  By  Ilemy  It.  Schoolcraft.  Philadelphia:  Lip- 
pincott,  Grambo  &  Co.    1855. 


32 


CAPTAm  OLAZTER  AND  HTS  LAKE. 


from  Solioolcraft'a  Island,  in  Itasca  Lake,  to  tlio  "  utmost  sources 
of  the  Mississippi,  at  the  summit  of  the  Hauteurs  do  Torre,  or 
dividing-ridge  between  the  Mississippi  and  tiie  lied  Kiver  of  the 
North,"  as  six  miles,  and  the  elevation  of  these  sources  as  five 
feet  above  Lake  Itasca.  Mr.  Schoolcraft's  reference  to  Mr.  Nic- 
ollet shows  the  most  unquestioning  confidence  in  the  correct- 
ness and  value  of  his  discoveries.  There  was  no  tliought  of 
jealousy  or  de])rcciation ;  just  as  on  the  part  of  Mr.  Nicollet 
there  was  no  thought  of  claiming  any  credit  above  Mr.  School- 
craft and  Lieutenant  Allen.  He  was  willing  "  to  come  after  these 
gentlemen,"  and  to  be  "  permitted  to  claim  some  merit  for 
having  comi>leted  what  was  wanting  for  a  full  geographical 
account  of  these  sources." 

And  this  is  exactly  the  relation  between  the  explorer  of  1832 
and  the  one  of  1836.  The  latter  simply  completed  what  was 
wanting  of  the  work  of  Schoolcraft  and  his  able  assistant  and 
topographer,  Lieutenant  Allen.  They  had  not  explored  the  re- 
motest springs  and  ponds  that  fed  Lake  Itasca,  but  there  is  no 
doubt  of  their  having  a  fairly  accurate  understanding  of  the  loca- 
tion of  these  remoter  sources  of  the  river,  from  the  reports  of  their 
Indian  guides.  For  proof  of  this  I  refer  to  the  map  of  Lake 
Itasca,*  drawn  by  Lieutenant  Allen,  in  part  evidently  from  data 
furnished  by  the  Indians,  which  shows  a  southern  feeder  running 
through  a  chain  of  small  ponds.  The  stream  appears  shorter 
and  the  ponds  smaller  than  Mr.  Nicollet  afterward  found  them 
to  be,  but  the  map  proves  that  Schoolcraft  was  not  such  an 
extreme  object  of  commiseration  as  Captain  Glazier  would  have 
us  think. 

GUYOT  AND  NICOLLET. 

Nor  had  the  world  entirely  forgotten  the  facts  in  regard  to 
this  matter  even  before  Captain  Glazier  made  his  "  great  dis- 
covery."'    The  following  passage,  from  Guyot's  f  "Introduction 

"        '  '  ■■  '■  "■'  ■   ■         -  .- ■■     I     .       .     ly  —  '''■■■  -  — 

*See  "  Schoolcraft's  Summary  Narrative,"  185"),  p.  243. 

f  There  is  especial  satisfaction  in  coupling  the  names  of  Nicollet  and  Guyot 
in  this  connection.  Nicollet  was  among  the  first  of  that  considerable  number 
of  distinguished  foreigners,  not  Englishmen,  who  in  the  maturity  of  their 
powers  have  come  to  this  country,  and  devoted  their  lives  and  fortimes  to  the 
prosecution  of  scientific  studies  in  the  broad  field  furnished  by  the  New  World. 
Humboldt  had,  perhaps,  given  the  grand  impulse  in  this  direction,  though  he 
returned  to  Europe  at  the  end  of  his  researches,  and  his  especial  field  was 


L 


» 


CAPTAIN  OLAZIER  AND  HIS  LAKE. 


33 


pd  to 

It  dis- 

iction 


to  Geograpliy,"  pages  12  and  13,  was  writteu  hi  180G,  twenty 
years  ago : 

"Wo  find,  away  in  a  forest  of  pine-woods,  almost  to  the  north  border  of 
our  country,  a  great  number  of  little  springs.  The  hills  from  which  these 
springs  flow  are  not  high,  steep,  and  rocky,  like  tliose  we  found  among  the 
Appalachian  Mountains,  but  they  are  low  and  rounded,  and  made  of  sand  and 
clay.  The  little  streams  flow  from  the  springs  in  these  hills  into  a  hollow, 
where  they  make  a  vc;y  small  pond  or  lake.  This  little  pond  is  the  place 
where  the  great  Jlississippi  begins  its  journey  to  the  ocean.  It  is  therefore 
called  the  source  of  the  Mississippi.  From  this,  the  cradle  of  the  ^lit.sissii)pi, 
flows  a  little  brook  so  small  you  could  easily  leap  across  it,  and  not  deep 
enough  to  prevent  your  wading  through  it. 

"After  the  little  brook  has  gone  a  distance  of  six*  miles,  it  finds  another 

South  America.  But  Nicollet  deserves  to  stand  with  Humboldt,  Guyot,  and 
Agassiz  in  tlie  first  rank  of  scholars  and  investigators.  Such  men  are  cer- 
tainly entitled  to  all  the  honors  which  they  have  won  in  the  cause  of  science. 

*  This  is  an  error  of  reckoning  made  by  Ouyot  in  common  with  other 
geographers.     Nicollet  places  the  utmost  sources  of  the  river  about  six  miles 
from  Schoolcraft^s  Island,  in  Lake  Itasca,  thus  making  their  distance  from 
Itasca  Lake  three  or  four  miles 
8 


84 


CAPTAIN  GLAZIER  AND  HIS  LAKE. 


I 


Braall,  linsin-shnpod  hollow,  into  which  it  flows.  Four  other  littlft  strcums  flow 
into  th(^  saiiio  liiiMiii,  tiiul  their  wiitern  .spread  out  tiiiil  fill  it,  uml  t'orin  a  smull 
and  beautiful  lake.  This  inealled  Ittikca  Lake.  It  is  always  eoiusidered  as  the 
source  of  the  Mifssissippi,  because  the  little  stream  that  flows  into  it  is  so  vory 
snuill  that  people  do  not  call  it  the  Mississippi." 

PKTERMANN  AND   NICOLLET. 

As  a  still  further  ar/d  valuable  evidenee  that  the  scientific 
world  in  general  knew  of  the  results  of  Nicollet's  explorations,  ■. 
it  is  worth  while  to  reproduce  (.see  p.  38),  from  the  hij^diest  Ger- 
man authority  a  small  inaj)  of  the  sources  of  the  Mississippi.  It 
is  a  copy  on  an  enlarged  scale  of  a  section  of  a  map  to  be  found 
in  Dr.  Petcrmann's  "  Sticler's  Hand  Atlas,"  published  by  Justus 
Perthes,  of  the  Gotha  Institute  of  Geography. 

GLAZIER  AND   NICOLLET. 

Captain  Glazier  himself  seems  to  have  had  a  vague  idea  of 
such  an  explorer  as  Nicollet,  but  in  every  case  he  i)laces  him  be- 
fore Schoolcraft  in  order  of  mention,  and  earlier  in  point  of  time. 
This  is  the  way  he  si)eaks  of  him  • 

'•  Within  tho  'ast  century  several  expeditions  have  attempted  to  find  the 
primal  re.'^ervoir  of  the  great  river  ;  Beltrami,  NicoUet,  and  Schoolcraft  have 
each  in  turn  claimed  the  goal  of  their  explorations.  .  .  .  Schoolcraft  ^"wa^ 
ly  located  a  hike  which  he  named  Itasca,  as  the  fountain-head,  in  1833,  and 
succeeded  in  securing  for  it  the  recognition  of  geographers  and  map-makers."  * 

And  again  the  captain  shows  his  ignorance  of  Nicollet  after 
this  fashion : 

"To  stand  at  the  source  ;  to  look  upon  tho  remotest  rills  and  springs 
which  contribute  to  the  birth  of  the  great  river  of  North  America  ;  to  write 
Unis  in  the  volume  opened  by  the  renowned  De  Soto  more  than  three  hundred 
years  ago,  and  in  which  Marquette,  La  Salle,  Hennepin,  Joliet,  Beltrami, 
Nicollet,  and  Schoolcraft  have  successively  inscribed  their  names,  was  quite 
enough  to  revive  the  drooping  spirits  of  the  most  depressed."  f 

All  this  seems  very  strange  in  the  man  who  claims  to  be  the 
last  and  not  the  least  of  the  great  line  of  heroes  of  Mississippi 
exploration.  But  I  am  not  inclined  to  charge  this  perversion 
and  suppression  of  history  to  anything  worse  than  ignorance. 

*"Am.  Meteorological  Journal,"  1884,  p.  176. 
f  "  Am.  Meteorological  Journal,"  1884,  p.  322. 


CAPTAIX  0 LAZIER  AND  HIS  LAh'K. 
GLAZIEU  AXD   ClIAMHEUS. 


85 


"While  Captain  Glazier  should  certainly  have  known  ver}'  def- 
initely of  Mr.  Nicollet's  explorationn  in  the  region  of  Lake  Itasea 
before  he  himself  ventured  into  that  field  as  an  ("xplorcr,  it  is, 
however,  not  so  surprisiag  that  he  had  not  heard  of  the  trip  of 
the  "  Herald's  "  canoeist  correspondent  when  he  himself  started  for 
the  North.  But  for  the  ])ast  two  years  there  has  been  no  excuse 
for  his  maintaining  the  claim  that  no  one  had  been  to  Elk  Lake 
before  him  and  his  party.  If  he  knew  notliing  of  Nicollet's  ex- 
plorations in  I80O  and  nothing  of  Surveyor  Hall's  work  in  1875, 
ho  must  at  least  have  read,  in  the  very  paper  that  published  his 
letter  to  Judge  Daly,  the  following  editorial  reference  to  his  pred- 
ecessor of  1872 : 

"  Unfortunately  for  him  [Captain  Gla7-ior],  however,  this  little  lake  poems 
to  be  the  very  body  of  water  found  twelve  years  ago  by  a  special  corres|)C)ndent 
sent  out  by  the  '  Herald '  to  find  the  Mississippi's  head  waters.  In  our  paper  of 
July  (],  1873,  we  published  a  letter  in  whieli  our  explorer  reported  tliat  after 
forcing  his  canoe  through  a  narrow,  tortuous  stream  entering  tiie  south-western 
extremity  of  Lake  Itasea,  he  suddenly  entered  a  lake  almost  circular  iix  out- 
line, to  which  he  gave  the  name  of  Dolly  Varden." 


i 


CHAMBERS   AT   "LAKE   GLAZIER"   IN   1872. 

Yet,  lest  he  may  not  have  taken  the  trouble  to  search  the 
columns  of  the  paper,  I  will  reproduce  the  following  from  the 
letter  as  it  originally  appeared : 

"  The  Dolly  Varden  was  rid  of  every  ounce  of  extra  luggage,  all  being 
left  with  the  guide  and  Indian  at  the  camp  near  the  outlet  of  Itasca,  for  the 
crew  was  about  to  start  on  a  voyage  in  which  he  might  have  to  carry  her  cin 
his  head.  Everything  in  readiness,  a  small  bag  of  hard  bread  and  cold  bacon 
and  roast  duck  on  board,  the  crew  pushed  out  alone  on  the  lake  for  a  thorough 
circumnavigation  of  the  shore.  Under  paddlo  the  canoe  coasted  down  the 
eastern  side  to  reach  the  south-east  end  of  the  lake.  The  soundings  to  tlie  first 
landing-i)lace  at  an  average  of  300  feet  from  shore  were  19,  IT),  8,  and  14  feet. 
Near  the  southern  point  a  small  stream  enters  the  lake,  but  does  not  extend 
further  than  l,r)00  feet  back  along  the  ridge  between  the  edge  of  a  meadow  and 
a  hill  of  pines.  Here  it  is  a  tiny  rivulet  which  trickles  down  from  the  rocks. 
The  crew  is  satisfied  that  it  does  not  flow  throughout  the  year,  and  that  it  owes 
even  its  present  size  to  the  recent  storms.     .     .     . 

"The  crew  then  returned  to  the  canoe  and  crossed  to  Schoolcraft  Island, 
finding  twelve  feet  of  water  about  midway.  It  was  not  thought  best  to  make 
a  landing  at  this  point,  but  the  shore  was  followed  on  the  side  toward  the 
mainland.     The  channel  which  separates  the  island  is  not  more  than  bOO  feet 


8G 


CAPTAIN  OLAZTEIl  AND  HIS  LAKE. 


in  wi(Uh  nt  the  hroatlcHt  point.  Tho  island  bonrs  tho  smno  jjononil  direction 
us  tiut  Itiku,  its  oxtroniitii'N  iicinj;  located  north-wost  and  Koulli-caNt.     .    .     . 

"Crossing'  to  tim  lanmrack  forest,  wliidi  hounds  the  lake  on  the  southern 
Hide,  it  \va8  fouml  to  be  ({uite  swampy  in  piaeun.  Althou^di  frequent  landings 
were  made  the  eniise  eoutinuefj  until,  ut  the  Houth-weslmi  aii;,'le<)f  the  lake,  a 
huiall  iidet  was  seen,  front  which  issued  a  stream  of  clear  water.  It  iiud  cut 
for  ilstlf  a  channr'l,  nltout  four  feet  in  depth  and  Hcarcely  more  in  width, 
through  the  thick  turf,  and  delled  discoloration  by  its  shiny  banks.  The  heart 
of  the  crew  beat  in  wild  and  hopeful  «'Xpectancy,  The  Dolly  was  pushed  up 
through  this  chaiuiel,  and  after  about  one-third  of  a  mile  of  pushing,  paildling, 
and  hauling,  the  stream  l)rought  the  craft  to  a  snwdl,  round  lake. 

"The  inlet  had  not  been  easy  of  navigation  by  any  means,  and  growing 
much  shallower  after  tho  first  130  feet,  several  portages  laid  l)een  made  l)y 
(bagging  the  boat  across  thc^  sticks  an<l  logs  in  thet  auuirack  swamp.  The  lake 
•was  not  more  than  from  1,(KX)  to  1,200  feet  in  diameter,  and  apparently  about 
circular  in  shape.  It  was  (piite  shallow,  with  considerable  grass  in  places. 
The  crew  crossed  to  the  opposite  side,  and  'ound  it  a  lloating  bog,  a  largo  lake, 
in  fact,  with  a  sod  floating  at  one  side,  thus  narrowing  it  down  to  the  circular 
lakelet  which  had  at  llrst  appeared.  IJeyond  this  bog,  after  a  long  tramp 
through  water  to  the  knees,  no  other  streams  or  open  lakes  cf)uld  be  found. 
The  same  was  found  to  be  true  after  the  lake  was  completely  circumnavigated. 

"  Here  then  is  the  source  of  the  largest  river  in  tiie  world  ;  here,  in  Cass 
County  (now  Hubbard  County),  Minnesota,  in  a  small  hvke,  scarcely  one  quar- 
ter of  a  mile  in  diameter,*  in  tho  midst  of  a  floating  bog,  aro  tho  fountains 
which  give  Inrth  to  the  j\Iississip[)i.  Tho  greatest  depth  of  the  lake  was  found 
to  be  only  twelve  feet.  After  bathing  in  tho  lake,  for  a  small  sandy  beach 
exists  near  the  outlet,  the  crow  christened  the  little  sheet  of  water  Dolly  Var- 
den  Lake,  and  he  is  resolved  to  maintain  that  name  against  all  competitors." 

lieturning  to  Lake  Itasca,  Mf.  Cliambcrs  started  down  the 
Mississippi  in  liis  canoe,  and  after  traveling  as  *or  as  Qrincy, 
Illinois,  by  that  craft,  took  steamer  to  St.  Louis  Thence,  also 
by  steamer,  he  went  to  New  Orleans  and  the  Gulf  of  Mexico, 
which  he  entered  by  the  South-west  Pass,  thus  traversing  the  en- 
tire length  of  the  river  from  its  sources  to  its  discharge  into  the 
Gulf  some  nine  years  before  Captain  Glazier  performed  the  same 
ex})loit.  But  Mr.  Chambers  did  not  consider  this  achievement 
anything  more  than  the  vacation  outing  of  a  fagged  journalist, 
and  was  probably  satisHed  if  the  proceeds  of  his  letters  paid  the 
expenses  of  his  trip. 

GLAZIER  AS   AN   EXPLORER. 

I  have  noted  the  careful  and  painstaking  way  in  which  Nicol- 
let pursued  his  investigations,  devoting  his  days  to  explorations 

*  This  is  the  estimated  width  of  the  lake.  The  length,  iueluding  the 
floating  bog  which  Mr.  Chambers  describes,  is  about  a  mile. 


I 


CAPTALV  a  LAZIER  AXD  HIS  LAKE, 


87 


and  munli  of  hi>»  nights  to  nstronotnicttl  ol)sorvati(>nfl.  Tn  con- 
tniMt  witli  thi.s  it  is  worth  wliile  to  cull  attention  to  tlio  super- 
fic'iiil,  drowsy  way  in  which  our  modern  explorer  did  his  work. 
To  do  hiiri  full  justice  I  give  in  his  own  words  (.'aptiiin  Cila- 
zier's  account  of  his  movements  from  the;  time  that  he  si^dited 
liake  Itasca,  "lietween  three  and  f(Uir  o'clock  in  tluMiftcrnoon  " 
of  July  21,  until  he  and  his  party  ([uit  Schoolcraft's  Island  and 
fitarte(l  down  the  river  "at  three  o'clock  iu  the  ufternuou"  of 
July  22 :  * 

"  On  turninj?  out  of  n  thiokct  at  tho  foot  of  thn  Inst  clovation,  hctwoon  throo 
nnrl  four  o'clock  in  thn  afternoon ,  our  lonpinp  oyos  rested  upon  tlit»  waters  of 
Luke  Itasca.  A  few  moments  later  wo  were  floating  on  its  placid  bosom,  and 
after  a  pull  of  between  two  and  three  miles  reached  Sclioolcrai't's  Island.  Tliia 
island  derives  its  name  from  Henry  Rowo  Seh(K)leraft,  who  discovered  Itasca  in 
1833,  and  located  it  as  the  source  of  the  Mississippi. 

"Hitherto  the  clainj  of  Schoolcraft  has  been  unquestioned,  and  for  half  a 
century  Lake  Itasca  has  enjoyed  tho  honor  of  standing  at  the  head  of  tho 
Father  of  Waters.     .     .     . 

"  The  exhausting  portages  of  July  21st,  between  the  east  and  west  forks  of 
the  Mississi|)pi,  prepared  us  for  a  sleep  which  evciu  tho  Minnesota  iiiosiiuitoes 
could  not  disturb,  and  which  was  not  broken  until  lonfi  nfti-r  the  sun  ivot*  glint- 
ing upon  UH  through  the  trees  on  the  morning  of  the  twent\j-necnnil.  Although 
I  had  cauti(med  the  guides  to  awaken  mo  at  dawn,  1  found  them  snoring  lustily 
at  six  o'clock. 

"As  soon  as  all  were  astir  Chc-no-wa-gc-sic  and  tho  Lagards  prepared  break- 
fast. George  struck  tents  and  rolled  tho  l>lankets,  while  Paine  busied  himself 
with  an  article  for  tho  St.  Paul  '  Pioneer-Press,'  descriptive  of  our  voyage  to 
Lake  Itasca.  But  little  ceremony  was  observed  at  breakfast,  which  was  served 
with  a  duo  regard  to  our  scant  rations,  and  consisted  of  a  small  slice  of  bacon 
and  a  '  flap-jack,'  each  of  very  meager  dimensions.     .    .    . 

"  Fully  convinced  that  the  statements  of  Che-no-wa-ge-sic  wore  entirely  tnist- 
worthy,  and  knowing  from  past  experience  that  he  was  perfectly  reliable 
as  a  guide,  we  pvt  our  canoes  info  the  tcater  at  eight  o'elork,  and  at  onco  began 
coasting  Itasca  for  its  feeders.  We  found  tho  outlets  of  six  small  streams,  two 
having  woU-defined  mouths,  and  four  filtering  into  tho  lake  through  bogs. 

*'  The  upper  end  of  the  south-wostern  arm  is  heavily  margined  with  rushes 
and  swamp  grass,  and  it  was  not  without  considerable  difliculty  that  wo  forced 
our  way  through  this  barrier  into  the  larger  of  tho  two  open  streams  which  flow 
into  this  end  of  the  lake. 

"Although  perfectly  familiar  with  the  topography  of  tho  country,  and 
entirely  confident  that  he  could  lead  us  to  the  beautiful  lake  which  he  had  so 
often  described,  Chc-no-wa-go-sic  was  for  some  moments  greatly  disturbed  by 
tho  network  of  rushes  in  which  wo  found  ourselves  temporarily  entangled. 
Leaping  from  his  canoe,  he  pushed  the  nishes  right  and  left  with  his  paddle. 


*This  description  is  to  be  found  in  the  "  Am.  Met.  Journal,"  1884,  pages 
262,  322,  324,  825,  827. 


38 


CAPTAIN  GLAZIER  AND  HIS  LAKE. 


i\ 


i' 


and  soon,  to  our  great  delight,  threw  up  his  hands  and  gave  a  characteristic 
'  Chippewa  yell,'  thereby  signifying  that  he  had  found  the  object  of  his 
soaieli.  Keturning,  he  seized  the  bow  of  my  canoe,  and  pulled  it  after  him 
through  the  rushes  out  into  the  clear,  glistening  waters  of  the  infant  Missis- 
sippi, which  at  the  point  of  entering  Itasca  is  seven  feet  wide  and  about  one 
foot  deep. 

"  Slow  and  sinuous  progress  of  two  hundred  yards  brought  us  to  a  blockade 
of  logs  and  shallow  water.  Determined  to  float  in  my  canoe  upon  the  surface 
of  the  lake  towards  which  we  were  paddling,  I  directed  the  guides  to  remove 
the  obstructions,  and  continued  to  urge  the  canoes  rapidly  forward,  although 
apposed  by  a  strong  and  constantly  increasing  current.  Sometimes  wo  found 
it  necessary  to  lift  the  canoes  over  logs,  and  occasionally  to  remove  diminutive 
rfand-bars  from  the  bed  of  the  stream  with  our  paddles.  As  we  neared  the 
head  of  this  primal  section  of  the  mighty  river  we  could  readily  touch  both 
shores  with  our  hands  at  the  same  time,  while  the  average  depth  of  water  in 
the  channel  did  not  exceed  five  inch?« 

"  Every  paddle  stroke  seemed  to  increase  the  ardor  with  which  we  were  car- 
ried forward.  The  desire  to  see  the  actual  source  of  a  river  so  celebrated  as  the 
Mississippi,  whoso  mouth  had  been  reached  by  La  Salle  nearly  two  centuries 
before,  was  doubtless  a  controlling  incentive.  What  had  long  been  sought  at 
last  appeared  suddenly.  On  pulling  and  pushing  our  way  through  a  network 
of  rushes  similar  to  the  one  encountered  on  leaving  Itasca,  the  cheering  sight 
of  a  transparent  body  of  water  burst  upon  our  view.  It  was  a  beautiful  lake — 
the  source  of  the  Father  of  Waters. 

"A  few  moments  later  and  our  little  flotilla  of  three  canoes  was  put  in 
motion,  headed  for  a  small  promontory  which  we  discerned  at  the  opposite  end 
of  the  lake.     .     .     . 

"  As  we  neared  the  headland  a  deer  was  seen  standing  on  the  shore,  and  an 
eat'le  swept  over  our  heads  with  food  for  its  young,  which  we  soon  discovered 
we  "  lodged  in  the  top  of  a  tall  pine.  The  water-fowl  noticed  upon  the  lake 
were  c;'oj)aiently  little  disturbed  by  our  presence,  and  seldom  left  the  surface  of 
the  wate.'. 

"  Thi  i  lake  is  about  a  mile  and  a  half  in  greatest  diameter,  and  would  be 
nearly  in  ovnl  in  form  but  for  a  single  promontory  which  extends  its  shores 
into  the  lake  so  as  to  give  it  in  outline  the  appearance  of  a  heiirt.  Its  feeders 
arc  Virec  small  creeks,  two  of  which  enter  on  the  right  and  left  of  the  head- 
la'  '  ,  and  have  their  origin  in  springs  at  the  foot  of  sand-hilk  from  ';W0  to 
th. '  0  miles  distant.  The  third  inlet  is  but  little  more  than  a  mile  in  length, 
ha;i  no  clearly  defined  course,  and  is  the  outlet  of  a  small  lake  situated  in  a 
m;a>li  to  the  south-westward.  These  three  creeks  were  named  in  the  order  of 
th&ir  discovery,  Elk,  Excelsior,  and  Eagle. 

"  liaving  satisfied  myself  as  to  its  remotest  feeders,  I  called  my  companions 
into  lii  e  at  the  foot  of  the  promontory  which  overlooks  the  lake,  and  talked 
for  a  few  moments  of  the  Mississippi  and  its  explorers  ;  told  them  I  was  con- 
fident that  we  were  looking  upon  the  true  source  of  the  great  river ;  that  we 
had  completed  a  work  begun  by  De  Soto  in  1541,  and  corrected  a  geographical 
error  of  Laif  a  century's  standing.  Concluding  my  remarks.  I  requested  a  vol- 
ley from  their  lirearms  for  each  member  of  the  party,  in  commemoration  of 
our  achievement.  When  the  firing  ceased,  Paine  gave  r.ie  a  surprise  by  step- 
ping to  the  front  and  proposing  'that  the  newly  discovered  lake  be  named 


CAPTAIN  GLAZIER  AND  UIS  LAKE. 


89 


Lake  Glazier,  in  honor  of  its  discoverer.'     The  proposition  was  seconded  by 
Moses  Lagard,  tiie  interpreter,  and  carried  by  acclamation." 

Captain  Glazier's  biographer  in  "  Sword  and  Pen  "  (pages 
477,  478)  liere  takes  up  the  narrative : 

"Standing  then  by  the  source  of  the  mighty  river,  around  which  so  many 
beautiful  Indian  legends  cluster,  and  about  which  the  white  man  has  ever  been 
curious,  the  cai)tain  felt  a  natural  throb  of  jiridc  that  so  much  of  his  great 
undertaking  had  been  successfully  achieved,  and  a  hope  that  the  future  held 
further  good  in  store  for  him. 

"  Giving  the  order  for  embarkation,  the  oanoes  were  soor.  gliding  across  the 
water,  bound  for  Lake  Itasca.  Entering  this  lake,  a  short  stop  was  made  at 
Schoolcraft's  Island  in  order  to  obtain  the  remain ier  of  their  luggage,  after 
which  they  re-embarked,  at  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  and  continued  the 
descent  of  the  river." 


Thus  it  is  shown  from  liis  own  account  that  Captain  Glazier 
spent  less  than  twenty-four  hours  at  Lake  Itasca  and  in  its 
vicinity ;  that  the  first  sixteen  hours  of  this  brief  day  he  made 
no  attempt  at  any  exploration ;  and  thnt  the  time  actually  em- 
ployed in  finding  the  inlet  of  Lake  Itasca,  exploring  its  course 
to  "  Lake  Glazier,"  returning  to  Schoolcraft's  Island,  and  getting 
ready  to  start  down  the  river  for  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  was  only 
from  8  A.M.  till  3  p.m. — seven  hours — of  the  22d  of  July,  1881. 
This,  too,  included  the  time  occupied  with  the  Captain's  stump 
speech,  the  flight  of  the  American  eagle,  and  the  drawing  up  of 
the  petition  "  to  the  geographical  societies "  of  the  universe. 
Compare  this  exploit  with  Nicollet's  three  days  and  nights  of  de- 
voted scientific  research.  Contrast  the  explorer  of  1836,  waiting 
seven  years,  and  dying  before  his  report  was  given  to  the  world, 
with  the  adventurer  of  1881,  drawing  up  his  petition  for  recog- 
nition before  his  actual  work  of  exploration  was  yet  seven  hours 
advanced. 


of 


WHAT  GLAZIER  REALLY   DISCOVERED. 

But.  however  effectually  Captain  Glazier's  claim  to  the  dis- 
covery of  the  true  source  of  the  Mississippi  may  bo  disimtecl,  no 
one  will  question  ^ne  other  claim  that  may  be  made  in  his  behalf. 
Somewhere,  somehow.  Captain  Glazier  has  discovered  a  copy  of 
Mr.  Schoolcraft's  "Narrative  of  an  Expedition  to  Lake  Itasca 


"■mBHewsaum 


40 


CAPTAIN  GLAZIER  AND  HIS  LAKE. 


jii 


in  1882."*  And,  as  in  the  case  of  his  discovery  of  "Lake 
Glazier,"  he  imagined  that  he  was  the  original  and  only  discov- 
erer and  possessor  of  that  work.  Unfortunately  for  Captain 
Glazier,  there  are  other  copies  of  that  work  besides  the  precious 
one  which  he  has  "discovered." 

Alongside  of  one  ^f  these  other  copies  I  desire  to  place  Cap- 
tain Glazier's  account  of  his  "  Eecent  Discovery  of  the  True 
Source  of  the  Mississippi,"  as  it  appears  in  the  "American  Mete- 
orological Journal "  for  1884.  Such  a  comparison  will  throw  still 
further  light  on  his  claim  to  stand  at  the  head  of  the  long  line 
of  heroes  of  Mississippi  exploration,  from  De  Soto  to  Nicollet. 

Mr.  Schoolcraft  and  Captain  Glazier  did  not  follow  the  same 
route  to  Lake  Itasca,  but,  from  the  junction  of  the  Naiwa  with 
the  East  Fork  of  the  Mississippi,  to  Itasca  Lake,  their  route  was 
the  same.  Captain  Glazier  visited  Leech  Lake  on  his  way 
to  Itasca;  Mr.  Schoolcraft  was  at  Leech  Lake  on  his  return 
from  Itasca. 

GLAZIER   ON  THE   INDIAN"  QUESTION. 

So,  following  Captain  Glazier's  order  of  procedure,  we  find  the 
captain  in  1881  on  the  spot  where  Mr.  Schoolcraft  had  been  in 
1832,  nearly  fifty  years  before.  They  both  found  at  this  lake  the 
headquarters  of  the  Leech  Lake,  or  Pillager,  band  of  Chippewa 
Indians.  Mr.  Schoolcraft  visited  them  a^  a  time  when  they  had 
but  just  come,  in  any  real  sense,  under  the  care  of  the  govern- 
ment. Mr.  Schoolcraft  was  their  agent,  but  his  official  residence 
was  hundreds  of  miles  away,  at  the  eastern  end  of  Lake  Superior, 
and  he  had  been  in  the  region  )nly  once  before,  in  1820 — before, 
indeed,  he  was  appointed  Indian  Agent.  When  Captain  Glazier 
visited  Leech  Lake,  these  Indians  had  been  under  the  care  of 
r,he  government  for  fifty  years.  They  had  schools,  saw-mills, 
grist-mills,  wheat-fields,  domestic  animals ;  and  though  they  were 
by  no  means  the  most  progressive  and  civilized  of  the  Chip- 
pewas,  they  were  c  ertainly  not  the  untutored  savages  that  Cap- 
tain Glazier  would  ijavc  "is  imagine  them  to  be. 

But,  bearing  in  mind  what  even  a  poor  Indian  policy  can  do 
for  a  tribe  in  fifty  years,  it  is  very  well  worth  the  while  to  com- 


• 


*  Published  by  Harper  &  Brothers,  New  York,  1834. 


CAPTAIN  GLAZIER  AND  HIS  LAKE, 


41 


pare  tlie  account  of  Glazier  in  1884  with  that  of  Schoolcraft  in 
1834: 


"Sehoo!  mft's  Narrative,"  1834,  p, 
77. 

"  Thl^"bnn(l  appears  to  have  (separated 
themselvv's  from  the  other  Chippewas  at 
an  early  day  and  to  liave  taken  upon 
themselves  the  dutv  which  Reuben, 
Gad,  and  Manasseh  assumed  when 
they  crossed  the  Jordan. 

''  They  have  '  passed  armed  before 
their  brV'thren '  in  their  march  west- 
ward. Tlieir  geographical  position  is 
one  which  imposes  upon  them  the  de- 
fense of  this  portion  of  the  Chippewa 
fiontior.  And  it  is  a  defense  in  which 
they  have  distinguished  tliemselves  as 
oravc  and  active  warriors.  Many  acts 
of  intrei)id;i;y  are  related  of  them  which 
would  be  recorded  witli  admiration  had 
white  men  been  the  actors. 

•  •  •  •  •  • 

"With  fewer  numbers  the  Chippewas 
have  not  hesitated  to  fall  upon  their 
enemies,  and  have  routed  them  and 
driven  them  before  them  with  a  valor 
and  resolution  which  in  any  period 
of  written  warfare  would  have  been 
stamped  as  heroic.  It  is  not  easy  on 
the  part  of  the  government  to  repress 
the  feelings  of  hostility  which  have  so 
long  existed,  and  to  convince  them  that 
they  have  lived  into  an  age  when  milder 
maxims  furnish  the  basis  of  wise  ac- 
tion. Pacific  counsels  fall  with  little 
power  iipon  a  people  situated  so  re- 
motely from  every  good  influence,  and 
who  cannot  perceive  in  the  restless  spirit 
of  their  er  mies  any  safeguard  for  the 
continuance  of  a  peace,  ho'vever  for- 
mally it  may  have  been  concluded.  This 
fact  was  adverted  to  bv  one  o'  their 
chiefs,  who  obsers'ed  that  they  were 
compelled  to  fight  in  self-defense.  Al- 
though the  Sioux  had  made  a  solemn 
peace  with  them  at  Tipisagi  in  1825, 
they  were  attacked  by  tnem  that  very 
year  and  had  almost  yearly  since  sus- 
tained insidious  or  open  attacks." 


Glazier's  Account,  "Am.  Met.  Jour- 
nal," 1884,  pp.  220.  221. 

"  This  band  seems  to  have  .separated 
from  the  other  Chippewas  at  an  early 
day  and  to  iiave  taken  upon  themselves 
the  duty  of  defending  this  portion  of 
the  Chippewa  frontier. 

"They  'passed  ai-med  before  their 
biOthren '  in  their  march  westward. 
Their  geographicrj  position  was  one 
which  required  them  to  assume  great 
responsibilities,  and  in  the  defense  of 
their  chosen  position  they  have  distin- 
guished themselves  as  brave  and  active 
warriors.  Many  acts  of  intrepidity  are 
related  of  them  which  would  be  recorded 
with  admiration  had  white  men  been 

the  actors. 

•         .         •         •         .  • 

"  With  fewer  numbers  the  Chippewas 
have  not  hesitated  to  fall  tipon  their 
enemies,  and  have  defeated  and  routed 
them  with  a  valor  and  resolution  which 
in  any  period  of  written  warfare  would 
have  been  stamped  as  heroic.  It  is  not 
easy  on  the  part  of  the  government  to 
repress  the  reelings  of  hostility  which 
have  so  long  existed,  and  to  convince 
them  that  they  have  lived  into  an  age 
when  milder  maxims  furnish  the  basis 
of  wise  action.  Pacific  counsels  fall 
with  little  power  upon  a  people  situated 
so  remote  from  every  good  influence, 
and  who  cannot  perceive  in  the  restless 
spirit  of  their  enemies  any  safeguard 
for  the  continuance  of  a  peace,  however 
formally  it  may  have  been  concluded. 
The  fact  was  adverted  to  by  one  of  their 
chiefs,  who  observed  that  they  were 
compelled  to  fight  in  self-defense.  Al- 
though the  Sioux  had  made  a  solemn 
pe«»ce  with  them  at  Tipisagi  in  18^5, 
they  were  attacked  by  them  that  very 
year  and  had  almost  yearly  since  sus- 
tained insidious  or  opeu  attacks." 


GLAZIER  AS  A  PILLAGER. 

And  so  Captain  Glazier  goes  on  for  a  page  or  more,  pillaginj 
the  work  of  Mr.  Schoolcraft  Can  he  be  so  benighted  as  not  to 
know  that  fifty  years  have  changed  all  this;  that  over  twenty 
years  ago  the  last  Sioux  was  removed  from  Minnesota,  and  that 
half  a  million  settlers  and  a  million  acres  of  wheat  farms  separate 
the  Pillagers  from  their  old  enemies  of  the  plaint*? 


42 


CAPTAIN  GLAZIER  AND  HIS  LAKE. 


ill 


Yet  Captain  Glazier's  eulogist  in  the  "  Sword  and  Pen"  (pp, 
448,  449)  gives  the  above  extracts  from  his  private  diary  "as 
evidence  of  a  certain  power  of  philosophic  reflection  and  in- 
ductive reasoning  unusual  in  the  mind  of  one  so  given  to  the 
excitement  of  an  active  and  enterprising  life  as  was  Captain 
Glazier,  who,  as  soldier,  author,  and  explorer,  certainly  allowed 
himself  little  rest  for  the  quiet  abstractions  of  tlie  student." 

I  differ  with  the  eulogist,  and  submit  that  the  above  are 
very  properly  termed  the  "quiet  abstractions  of  a  student,"  and 
nothing  else. 

These  "philosophic  reflections"  of  Captain  Glazier  then  pro- 
ceed to  take  a  survey  of  the  domestic  life  and  manners  of  the 
Pillagers  and  "  all  our  Northern  Indians,"  their  nomadic  life, 
"  their  want  of  domesticated  animals,  and  theif  general  dependence 
on  ivild  rice "  for  subsistence,  all  of  which  must  read  very 
strangely  to  those  acquainted  with  the  Agency  Indians  of 
Minnesota.  Then,  adverting  to  their  moral  condition,  these 
abstractions  close  as  follows : 


"Schoolcraft's  Narrative,"  1834,  p. 
80. 

"All  that  related  to  a  system  of  dances, 
sacrifices,  and  ceremonies,  which  stood 
in  the  place  of  religion,  still  occupies 
that  position,  presenting  a  subject 
which  is  deemed  the  peculiar  labor  of 
evangelists  and  teachers.  Missionaries 
have  been  sloiv  to  avail  themselves  of 
this  field  of  labor,  and  it  should  not  ex- 
cite surprise  that  the  people  themselves 
are,  to  so  great  a  degree,  mentally  the 
same  in  1833  that  they  were  on  the 
arrival  of  the  French  on  the  St.  Law- 
rence in  1533." 


Glazier's  Account,  "Am.  Met.  Jour- 
nal," 1884,  pp.  221,  232. 

"All  that  related  to  a  sj-stem  of  dances, 
sacrifices,  and  ceremonies,  which  stood 
in  the  place  of  religion  still  occupies 
tliat  position,  presenting  a  subject 
which  is  claimed  to  be  the  peculiar 
work  of  teachers  and  evangelists.  Mis- 
sionaries have  been  seen  to  avail  them- 
selves of  this  field  of  labor,  and  it  should 
not  excite  surprise  that  the  Chippewa.s 
are,  to  so  great  a  degree,  mentally  the 
same  in  1882  that  they  were  on  the  ar- 
rival of  the  French  in  1533." 


i      \ 


« 


GLAZIER  versus  MAJOR  rt;ffe. 

Captain  Glazier  claims  to  have  gained  the  above  information 
from  Major  Euffe,  the  Indian  Agent  at  Leech  Lake.  If  anything 
more  is  needed  to  show  that  these  philosophic  abstractions  were 
at  least  fifty  years  behind  the  times,  I  would  refer  to  the  follow- 
ing extracts  from  Major  Ruffe's  report  to  the  Indian  Bureau 
under  date  of  September  4,  1880 : 

"  The  uniform  good  conduct  of  the  Indians  under  my  charge,  their  civility 
toward  each  other,  their  generally  correct  deportment  and  freedom  from  indul- 
gence in  those  vices  peculiar  to  savages,  and  from  which  many  civilized  com- 
munities are  not  exempt,  theii*  evident  desire  to  imitate  what  is  thought  best 


CAPTAIX  GLAZIER  AND  HIS  LAKE. 


43 


to  conduce  to  their  good  and  to  eschew  whatever  seemed  neniicious  and  evil, 
has  characterized  their  social  and  moral  habits,  and  merits  most  hearty  com- 
mendation. No  oilense  ot  a  greater  magnitude  than  a  minor  misdemeanor  has 
been  committed  by  any  Indian  within  my  jurisdiction,  and  even  petty  brawls 
or  disorderly  conduct  have  been  of  rare  occurrence. 

"  An  increasing  interest  lias  been  manifested  by  the  Indians  in  religious 
matters,  and  the  efforts  of  zealous  men  devoted  to  their  spiritual  salvation  liavo 
been  rewarded  by  many  proselytes,  apparently  sincere.  ,  .  .  The  attend- 
ance upon  divine  worshii)  has  increased  in  a  gratifying  degree,  and  the  idola- 
trous practices  of  the  savage  have  now  become  obsolete. 

"  There  are  now  3,500  acres  under  cultivation,  producing  this  year  not  less 
than  98,000  bushels  of  grain  and  vegetables,  cultivated  and  harvested  almost 
entirely  by  Indian  labor.     .     . 

"  The  tluur  and  saw  mills  upon  this  reservation  arc  in  good  order  and  con- 
dition. .  .  .  The  mills  in  the  Leech  Lake  and  Red  Rivur  llesei-vations 
are  old,  and  unfit  to  meet  the  requirements  of  the  respective  localities.     . 

"  An  exposition  of  the  products  and  industry  of  the  Indians  of  this  reser- 
vation was  held  here  (at  White  Earth)  last  September.  ...  I  think  1  may 
safely  say  that  few  local  industrial  fairs  presented  a  greater  variety  of  domestic 
products,  of  superior  workmanship  and  quality  or  excellence,  than  did  the 
exposition  of  these  Indians." 


)n 


m 


ty 

Id- 
b- 

Ist 


And  this  is  the  gentleman  whom  Captain  Glazier  credits  with 
the  statement  that  "  the  Chippewas  are  to  so  great  a  degree 
mentally  the  same  in  1882  that  they  were  on  the  arrival  of  the 
French  in  1532." 

But  as  early  as  the  year  1836  to  1839  the  Chippewas  had  im- 
proved far  beyond  where  Captain  Glazier  would  leave  them  even 
now.     Here  is  the  evidence  of  Mr.  Nicollet : 

"  The  territory  of  the  Chippewas,  the  exploration  of  which  I  had  just  fin- 
ished, as  well  as  that  of  the  Sioux,  upon  which  I  was  entering,  had  been  for 
many  years  tranijuil.  This  is,  beyond  a  doubt,  to  be  attributed  to  the  firmness 
of  the  Indian  agents,  Lieutenant  Taliaferro  and  II.  Schoolcraft,  in  enforcing 
the  Law  '  f  1832,  prohibiting  the  introduction  of  ardent  spirits,  in  whieh 
efforts  they  were  warmly  su{)ported  by  Colonel  Davenport,  the  commander  of 
Fort  Snelling,  and  Messrs.  11  Sibley  and  Abm.  Aitkin,  agents  of  the  American 
Fur  Company.  I  found  tiie  same  condition  of  things  in  1837,  1833,  and  183'.), 
when  the  fort  was  under  the  command  of  Major  Plympton  ;  for  during  those 
years  I  continued  to  explore  the  vast  region  occupied  by  those  two  great 
nations.  Then  it  was  I  bade  a  last  adieu  to  the  unconstrained  liberty  of  the 
children  of  the  forest,  who,  it  requires  no  great  foresight  to  anticipate,  will 
soon  have  to  yield  to  the  restraints  of  civilization."  * 

And  Charles  Lanman,  who  visited  Leech  Lake  in  18-10,  wrote 
of  the  Pillagers :  f 

*  "  Nicollet's  Report,"  1843,  p.  GO. 

f  Lanman's  "  Adventures  iu  the  Wilderness,"  vol.  i.,  p.  T9. 


4i 


CAPTAIN  GLAZIER  AND  ITIS  LAKE. 


"They  aro  good  hunters,  nnd  pay  more  attention  to  agriculture  than  any 
other  tribe  of  the  [Chippewa]  nation." 

I  do  not  believe  any  one  will  charge  Major  Ruffe  with  hav- 
ing so  far  traversed  his  official  reports  of  the  year  before  as  to 
give  Captain  Glazier  any  such  information  as  he  credits  to  him. 
Major  Ruffe  was  not  a  Pillager. 


LEECH  LAKE. 


Both  Mr.  Schoolcraft  and  Captain  Glazier  were  at  Leech  Lake, 
though  fifty  years  apart,  and  it  is  not  strange  that  they  saw  much 
the  same  characteristics  of  that  peculiar  body  of  water.  Here  is 
the  way  it  looked  to  each  of  them  : 


"Schoolcraft's  Narrative,"  1834,  p. 
36. 

"  Lopch  Lake  is  one  of  the  most  irreg- 
ular shaped  bodies  of  water  that  can  be 
conceived  of.  It  is  neither  charaoter- 
istically  long,  spherical,  or  broad,  but 
rather  a  combination  of  curves,  .  .  . 
peninsulas,  and  bays,  of  which  noth- 
ing short  of  a  map  can  convey  an  accu- 
rate idea." 


Glazier's  Account,  "Am.  Met.  Jour- 
nal," 1884,  p.  219. 

"  Leech  Lake  is  one  of  the  most  irreg- 
ularly shaped  bodies  of  water  tliat  can 
be  conceived  of.  It  is  neither  charac- 
teristically long,  circular,  nor  broad, 
but  rather  a  combination  of  curves, 
peninsulas,  and  bays,  of  which  nothing 
short  of  a  map  can  convey  an  accurate 
idea." 


GLAZIER  AND   FLAT   MOUTH. 

At  Leech  Lake  Mr.  Schoolcraft  accepted  the  invitation  of 
"  Aish  Kibug  Ekozh,  the  ruler  of  the  Pillager  band,"  to  break- 
fast with  him.  Not  to  be  outdone,  Captain  Glazier  likewise  ac- 
cepted the  invitation  of  "  Flat  Mouth,  the  preseut  raler  of  the 
Pillagers,"  to  dinner.  The  accounts,  when  placed  side  by  side, 
give  us  a  graphic  idea  of  the  progress  made  in  the  past  fifty 
years : 

Glazier's  Account,  "Am.  Met.  Jour- 
nal," 1884,  pp.  223,  323. 

"  I  went  to  his  residence  at  the  ap- 

Eointed  hour,  accompanied  by  my 
rother.  I  found  him  living  in  a  com- 
fortable log-house  of  two  rooms,  well- 
floored  and  roofed,  with  a  couple  of 
small  glass  windows.  A  plain  board 
table  stood  in  the  center  of  the  front 
room,  upon  which  the  dinner  was 
spread.  Pine  board  benches  were 
placed  on  each  side  of  the  table  a.id  at 
the  ends.  We  folloiced  the  example  of 
our  host  in  sitting  down. 

"Five  other  persons,  including  his 
wife,  were  admitted  to  the  meal.    The 


"  Schoolcraft's  Narrative,"  1834,  pp. 
80,  81. 

"  I  went  to  his  residence  at  the  proper 
time,  accompanied  by  Mr.  Johnson.  I 
found  him  living  in  a  comfortable  log- 
building  of  two  rooms,  well-floored  and 
roofed,  with  a  couple  of  small  glass  win- 
dows. A  mat  was  spread  upon  the  cen- 
ter of  the  floor,  ivhich  contained  the 
hreakfi  -.,  Other  mats  were  spread 
around  it  to  sit  on.  We  followed  his 
example  in  sitting  down  after  the  East- 
ern manner. 

"There  was  no  other  person  admitted 
to  the  meal  but  his  wife,  who  sat  near  1 


CAPTAIN  GLAZIER  AND  HIS  LAKE. 


45 


him,  and  poured  out  the  ton,  but  ate  or 
drank  notliinj?  herself.  Teacups  and 
teaspoons,  plates,  knives  and  forks  of 
plain  manufacture,  were  carefully  ar- 
ranged, and  the  number  corresponding 
exactly  with  the  ex[)e('ted  guests.  A 
white-lish,  cut  up  and  broiled  in  good 
taste,  oceunied  a  dish  in  the  center,  from 
which  ho  helped  u?.  A  salt-cellar,  in 
which  pepper  and  salt  were  mixed  in 
une(jual  proportions,  allowed  each  the 
privilege  of  seasoning  his  fish  with  both 
or  neither.  Our  tea  was  sweetened 
with  the  native  sugar,  and  the  dish  of 
hard  bread  seemed  to  have  been  pre- 
cisely wanted  to  make  out  the  repast." 


wife  of  Flat  Mouth  sat  near  him  and 
poured  out  the  tea,  but  ate  or  dnink 
nothing  liorself.  Teacups  and  teaspoons 
of  plain  manufacture  were  carefully 
arranged,  the  number  corresponding 
exactly  with  the  expected  guests.  A 
fine  mess  of  bass  and  white-lish,  cut  up 
and  boiled  in  good  taste,  occupied  a 
dish  in  the  center  of  the  table,  from 
which  he  helped  us.  A  birch  bark  salt- 
cellar, in  which  pepper  and  salt  were 
mixed  in  unequal  pro{)ortion,  allowed 
each  the  privilege  of  seasoning  his  fish 
with  both  or  either.  Our  tea  was 
sweetened  with  the  native  sugar.  A 
dish  of  blue-berries  picked  on  the  shore 
of  the  lake  completed  the  dinner." 


Unfortunately,  however,  here  again  Mr.  Nicollet  comes  in 
to  the  confusion  of  Captain  Glazier,  for  in  1836  Mr.  Nicollet  en- 
joyed the  hospitality  of  Esh  Kebog  Ikoj ;  and  he  found  the  amen- 
ities of  social  life  on  a  much  more  liberal  scale  than  did  Mr. 
Schoolcraft  in  1832.     Nicollet  says : 

"  During  three  successive  evenings  I  went  to  take  tea  with  Esh  Kebog  Ikoj, 
and  drank  it  out  of  fine  china-ware.  .  ,  .  I  need  scarcely  add,  that  these 
three  long  evenings  spent  with  Esh  Kebog  ikoj  were  full  of  instruction."  * 

It  is  not  fair,  however,  to  interrupt  Captain  Glazier  in  the 
midst  of  this  banquet ;  and  so,  with  an  apology  for  the  unwel- 
come intrusion  of  Nicollet,  the  description  proceeds  as  follows : 


•'  Schoolcraft's  Narrative,"  1834, 
p.  81. 

"During the  repast  the  room  became 
filled  with  Indians,  apparently  the  rela- 
tives and  intimate  friends  of  the  chief, 
who  seated  themselves  orderly  and  si- 
lently around  the  room.  When  we 
arose,  the  chief  assumed  the  oratorical 
Lttitude,  and  addressed  himself  to  me. 

"  lie  expressed  regret  that  I  had  not 
been  able  to  visit  them  the  year  before, 
when  I  was  expected.  He  hoped  I  had 
now  come,  as  I  came  by  surprise,  to  re- 
main some  days  with  them." 


Glazier's  Account,  "  Am.  Met.  Jour- 
nal," 1884,  p.  233. 

"During  the  repast  the  room  became 
filled  with  Indians,  apparently  the  rela- 
tives and  intimate  friends  of  Flat 
Mouth,  who  seated  themselves  orderly 
and  silently  around.  When  we  arose, 
^^■hite  Cloud  assumed  the  oratorical 
attitude,  and  addressed  himself  to  me. 

"  He  expressed  regret  that  his  white 
brethren  had  been  so  long  in  ignorance 
of  the  source  of  the  Mississippi.  .  .  . 
He  hoped  I  had  come  thoroughly  pre- 

Eared  to  explore  the  country   beyond 
lake  Itasca." 


Equally  refreshing  and  instructive  is  the  following  compari- 


*  "  Nicollet's  Report,"  1843,  p.  62. 


« 


40 


CAPTAIN  OLAZIER  AND  HIS  LAKE. 


son  of  the  character  of  A'sh  Kibiig  Ekozh,  in  1832,  with  that  of 
White  Cloud  in  1881 : 


"  Schoolcraft's  Narrative,"'  1834, 
pp.  81,  m. 

"This  chief  [Aish  Kibng  Ekozh], 
hroupht  mo  ii  letter  some  years  ajjo,  at 
St.  Mary's,  in  which  he  is  spoken  of  as 
'the  most  respectable  man  in  the  Chip- 
pewa country.'  And  if  tho  term  was 
applied  to  his  mental  qualities,  and  the 
power  of  drawing  just  conclusions  from 
known  premises,  and  the  elfects  which 
these  have  had  on  his  standing  and  in- 
fluence with  his  own  band,  it  is  not 
misapplied.  Shrewdness  and  quickness 
most  of  tiio  chiefs  possess,  but  there  is 
more  of  the  character  of  common  sense 
and  practical  reflection  in  GuoUe  Plat's 
remarks  than,  with  a  very  extensive 
ac(piaintanco,  I  recollect  to  have  no- 
ticed in  most  of  tho  chiefs  now  living 
of  this  tribe. 

"  He  is  both  a  warrior  and  a  counselr«r, 
and  these  distinctions  he  holds,  not 
from  any  hereditary  right, 
but  from  the  foi'ce  of  his  own  character. 
I  found  him  ready  to  converse  on  the 
topics  of  most  interest  to  him,  and 
the  sentiments  he  uttered  . 
were  such  as  would  occur  to  a  mind 
which  had  possessed  itself  of  facts,  and 
was  capable  of  reasoning  from  them. 
His  manners  were  grave  and  dignified, 
and  his  oratory  such  as  to  render  him 
popular  with  his  tribe." 


Glnzier's  Afcount,  "  Am,  Met.  Jour- 
nal," 1884,  p.  233. 

' '  I  was  much  gratified  on  this  occasion 
by  the  presence  of  White  Cloud,  whom 
I  had  frequently  been  told  was  the  most 
respectable  man  in  the  Chippewa  coun- 
try, and  if  the  term  was  applied  to  his 
intellectual  qualities,  and  the  power  of 
drawing  just  conclusions  frou)  known 
premises,  and  the  effects  which  these 
nave  had  on  his  standing  an<l  influence 
with  his  own  tribe,  it  is  not  misapplied. 
Shrewdness  and  quickness  of  percep- 
tion most  of  the  chiefs  ;/Osse.ss,  but 
there  is  more  of  the  character  of  com- 
mon  sense  and  practical  riflection  in 
White  Cloud's  remarks  than  I  remem- 
ber to  have  noticed  in  most  of  the  chiefs 
of  my  accpiaintance. 

"  In  his  early  life  he  was  both  a  war- 
rior and  a  coimselor,  and  these  dis- 
tinctions he  held,  not  from  any  heredi- 
tary right,  but  fi'om  the  force  of  his 
own  character.  I  foiuid  him  quite 
ready  to  converse  on  tho  topics  which 
were  of  most  interest  to  him,  and  tho 
sentiments  he  uttered  were  such  as 
would  occur  to  a  mind  which  had  pos- 
sessed itself  of  facts  and  was  capable  of 
reasoning  from  them.  His  manners 
were  grave  and  dignified,  and  his  ora- 
tory such  as  to  render  him  popular 
wherever  heard." 


AGAIN  ON  Schoolcraft's  trail. 

Captain  Glazier  again  strikes  the  trail  of  Mr.  Schoolcraft  just 
before  his  arrival  at  Lake  Itasca,  and  immediately  he  becomes 
graphic  and  scientific  in  his  descriptions.  It  is  where  the  Kiver 
Naiwa  joins  the  eastern  branch  of  the  Mississippi : 


"  Schoolcraft's     Narrative,"     1834, 
p.  53. 

"We  found  the  channel  above  the 
Naiwa  diminished  to  a  clever  brook, 
more  decidedly  marshy  in  the  character 
of  its  shores,  but  not  presenting  in  its 
plants  or  trees  anything  particularly  to 
distinguish  it  from  the  lower  part  of  the 
stream.     The  water  is  still  and  pond- 
like.    It  presents  some  small  areas  of  I 
wild  rice.     It  appears  to  be  a  favorite  i 
resort  for  tho  duck  and  teal,  who  fro- 1 
quently  rose  before  us,  and  were  aroused  j 
again  and  again  by  our  progress."         I 


01  azier's  Account,  "Am.  Met.  Jour- 
nal," 1884,  pp.  358,  259. 

We  found  the  new  stream  more  de- 
cidedly  marshy  in  tho  character  of  its 
shores,  but  not  presenting  in  its  plants 
or  trees  anything  to  distinguish  it  par- 
ticularly from  the  Naiwa.  The  water 
is  still  and  pondlike.  It  presents  some 
small  areas  of  wild  rice,  and  appears  to 
be  the  favorite  resort  for  the  duck  and 
teal,  who  frequently  rose  before  us,  and 
were  aroused  again  and  again  by  our 
progress." 


CAPTAIN  GLAZIER  AND  HIS  LAKE. 


47 


And  now  thcj^  arc  both  on  their  way  up  the  eastern  branch 
of  the  river,  bound  for  Itasca  Lake : 
"  Schoolcraft's     Ncrrative,"     1834, 


p.  53. 

"  An  hour  and  a  half  dilifyently  em- 
ployetl  brought  us  to  the  foot  of  Os- 
sewa  Lake.  We  halted  a  moment  to 
survey  it.  It  exhibits  a  broad  border 
of  aquatic  plants  with  somewhat  bliick- 
ish  waters.  .  .  .  It  is  the  recipient 
of  two  lirooks,  and  may  be  regarded  as 
tlio  source  of  this  fork  of  the  Missis- 
sippi. We  were  precisely  twenty  min- 
utes in  passing  through  it.  Wo  entered 
one  of  the  brooks,  the  most  southerly  in 
position.  It  possessed  no  current,  and 
WHS  filled  with  broad-leaved  plants  and 
a  kind  of  yellow  pond-lily.  We  ap- 
peared to  be  involved  in  a  morass  where 
it  seemed  to  be  equally  impracticable  to 
make  the  land  or  proceed  far  by  water. 
In  this  we  were  not  mistaken.  Oza 
Windib  soon  pushed  his  canoe  into  the 
weeds  and  exclaimed,  'Oma  mikunna,^ 
('  here  is  a  portage").  A  m.an  who  is  called 
on  for  the  first  time  to  debark  in  such 
a  place  will  look  about  him  to  discover 
so'T.e  diy  spot  to  put  his  feet  upon.  No 
oUch  spot,  however,  existed  here.  We 
stepped  into  rather  warm  pond  water, 
with  a  miry  bottom.  After  wading  a 
hundred  yards  or  more  the  soil  became 
firm,  and  we  soon  began  to  ascend  a 
slight  elevation  where  the  growth  par- 
takes more  of  the  character  of  a  forest. 
Traces  of  a  path  appeared  here,  and  we 
suddenly  entered  an  opening  affording 
an  eligible  spot  for  landing.  .  .  . 
The  carbonaceous  remains  of  former 
fires,  the  bones  of  birds,  and  scattered 
camp.poles  proved  it  to  be  a  spot  which 
had  previously  been  occupied  by  the  In- 
dians." 


Glazier's  Account,  "Am.  Met.  Jour- 
nal." 1884,  p.  259. 

"Four  hours  of  vigorous  paddling 
brought  us  to  the  foot  of  a  Intce  where 
wo  halted  a  few  moments  to  survey.  It 
exhibits  a  broad  border  of  ucjuatic 
plants  with  somewhat  blackish  waters. 
It  is  the  recipient  of  two  brooks,  and 
mav  be  regarded  as  the  source  of  this 
fork  of  the  Mississippi.  .  .  .  Wo 
were  twenty  minutes  in  passing  through 
the  lake.  ...  On  reaching  its 
southern  end  wo  entered  one  of  the 
brooks.  It  possessed  no  perce[)tiblo  cur- 
rent, and  was  filled  with  broad-leaved 
plants,  rushes,  and  swamp  grass.  Wo 
appeared  to  be  involved  in  a  morass 
where  it  seemed  impracticable  to  either 
make  the  land  or  proceed  further  by- 
water.  In  this  wo  were  not  mistaken. 
Che-no-wa-gc-sic  soon  pushed  his  canoe 
into  the  nislies  and  exclaimed,  'Oma  mi- 
kunna ' — '  hero  is  the  portage.'  A  num 
who  is  called  on  for  the  first  time  to 
debark  in  such  a  place  will  cast  about 
for  some  dry  spot  to  put  his  feet  u[)on. 
No  such  spot,  however,  existed  here. 
We  stepped  into  rather  warm  pond 
water,  with  a  miry  bottom.  After  wad- 
ing a  hundred  yards  or  more  the  soil 
became  firm  and  we  began  to  ascend  a 
slight  elevation  where  the  growth  par- 
takes more  of  the  character  of  a  forest. 
Traces  of  a  path  appeared  here,  and  we 
suddenly  entered  an  opening  which  af- 
forded an  eligible  place  for  landing. 
Remains  of  former  fires,  the  bones  of 
birds,  and  scattered  camp-poles  proved 
it  to  be  a  spot  which  had  previously 
been  occupied  by  the  Indians." 


MORE   ORIGINAL   PTSCOVERIES. 


Surely,  such  explorations  as  these  are  easy  to  make  in  the 
serene  and  quiet  abstractions  of  the  stud}-.  But  the  audacity  of 
the  following  is  beyond  description : 


"  Schoolcraft's  Narrative,"  1834, 
p.  .■")3. 

"  Having  followed  out  this  branch  of 
the  Mississippi  to  its  source,  it  may 
be  observed  that  its  existence  as  a 
separate  river  has  hitherto  been  un- 
known in  our  geography.  None  of  the 
maps  indicate  the  ultimate  separation 
of  the  Mississippi  above  Cass  Lake  into 
two  forks." 


Glazier's  Account,  "  Am.  Met.  Jour- 
nal," 1884,  pp.  259,  260. 

"  Having  followed  otit  this  branch  of 
the  ]Mississippi  to  its  source,  it  may  be 
observed  that  its  existence  as  a  separate 
river  has  hitherto  been  unknown  in  our 
geography.  None  of  the  maps  indicate 
the  ultimate  separation  of  the  Missis- 
sippi above  Lake  Bemidji  into  two 
forks." 


'%'t^HfCf 


I. 


If-  \ 


CAPTAIN  GLAZFER  AND  HIS  LAKE. 


49 


3 


^(^ 


If  Captain  Glazier  will  cxaniiiio  the  volumo  of  "  Scbool craft's 
Narrative  "  (edition  of  1834),  from  which  he  copied  the  above,  be 
will  find,  facing  the  title-page,  a  map  of  this  whole  region,  on 
wbicb  is  shown  the  entire  course  of  this  eastern  fork.  Where, 
indeed,  did  he  get  its  course  for  bis  map  if  not  there,  or  from 
some  of  the  numerous  map-malvers  who  have  copied  from  School- 
craft? lie  does  not  pretend  to  have  gone  but  a  short  |)art  of  its 
length.  And  now,  as  if  to  more  thoroughly  deceive  his  readers 
and  the  world,  Ca})tain  Glazier  thus  pats  the  back  of  the  man 
whose  pockets  he  has  just  been  engaged  in  rifling: 

"  I  christened  it  Sciioolcraft  River,  as  a  tribute  to  its  discoverer,  who, 
though  he  failed  to  reach  the  goal  of  his  explorations,  rendered  valuable  ser- 
vice in  the  department  of  geography." 

This  will  not  do.  However  much  one  may  be  disposed  to 
honor  Henry  Howe  Schoolcraft,  he  will  hardly  care  to  do  it 
under  the  lead  of  Captain  Glazier.  Furthermore,  as  I  have  be- 
fore remarked,  Mr.  Nicollet  was  on  that  river  fifty  years  ago ; 
and  he  named  it  after  his  old  and  illustrious  teacher,  Laplace.* 

But  Captain  Glazier  is  pushing  forward  to  Lake  Itasca  : 


"Schoolcraft's  Narrative,"  1834,  pp. 
53,  54. 

"The  portage  fr^ni  the  east  to  the 
west  branch  of  the  river  is  estimated  to 
be  six  miles.     Beginning  in  a  marsh,  it 
soon  rises  into  a  little  elevation  of  white 
ci^dar  wood,  then  plunges  into  tiie  in- 
tricacies of  a  swamp  matted  with  fallen 
trees,  obscured  with  moss.     From  this 
the  path  emerges  upon  dry  ground.     It 
soon  ascends  an  elevation  of  oceanic  ■ 
sand,    having    bowlders   and  bearing 
pines.     There  is  then  another  descent ! 
and  another  elevation.     In  sliort,  the 
traveler  now  finds  himself  crossing  a 
series  of    diluvial    sand-ridges   which 
form  tlie  lieight  of  land  between  tiic 
Mississippi  Valley  and  the  lied  Kiver. 
It  is,    in   fine,  the  table-land  between 
the  waters  of  Hudson's  Bay  and  the  i 
Mexican  Gulf,     It  also  gives  rise  to  the  . 
remotest  tributaries  of  the  River  St.  ' 
Louis,  which,  thnnigh   Lake  Superior; 
and  its  connecting  chain,  may  be  con- 
sidered as  furnishing  the  head-waters  | 
of  the  St.  Lawrence.     This  table-land ; 
is  probably  the  highest  in  North-western 
America  in  this  longitude." 


Glazier's  Account,  "Am.  Met.  Jour- 
nal," 18S4,  p.  261. 

"  The  portage  from  the  eastern  to  the 
western  branch  of  the  Mississippi  is  six 
miles.  Beginning  in  a  nuirsh,  it  soon 
rises  into  a  little  elevation  covered  with 
a  growth  of  cedar,  white  pine,  and 
tamarack,  then  plunges  into  a  swamp 
malted  witii  fallen  trees,  obscured  by 
moss.  From  the  swamp  the  trail 
emerges  upon  dry  ground,  from  whence 
it  soon  ascends  an  elevation  of  oeeanio 
sand,  having  bowlders  and  bearing 
pines.  There  is  then  another  descent 
and  another  elevation.  In  sliort.  this 
rortage  carried  us  over  a  series  of  di- 
!'  vial  sand-ridges  which  form  the  height 
of  land  between  the  Mississippi  and  the 
Red  River  of  tlie  North. 

"These  ridges  constitute  the  table- 
land between  the  waters  of  Hudson's  Bay 
and  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  and  give  rise 
to  the  remotest  tributaries  of  the  River 
St.  Louis,which,  through  Lake  Superior 
and  its  connecting  chain,  luay  be  cun- 
sidered  as  furnishing  the  head-waters 
of  tlie  St.  Lawrence.  This  is  unques- 
tionably the  highest  land  of  North 
America  between  the  AUeghanies  and 
the  Rocky  Mountains." 


4 


*  "Nicollet's  Report,"  1843,  p.  59. 


I  ' 


i: 


60 


CAPTAIN  OLAZIER  AND  HIS  LAKE. 


Having  thus  indulged  in  a  learned  gcogrupliical  diversion, 
for  the  benefit  of  hin  readers,  tlic  explorer  again  returns  to  the 
severer  experiences  of  the  trail : 

••Schoolcraft's  Narrative,"  1834.  p. 


64. 

•'In  crossiiiff  this  liij^hland  our  In- 
dian K<>>(liS  ^^'f'^  Windib,  lod  tht*  way, 
carrying  one  of  tfio  canooH  as  \m  \n\,Tt 
of  tno  burden.  Tiio  othcrH  followed, 
some   bearing  canoes  and  otIierH  bag- 

Sagc.  The  wiiolo  party  were  in  Indian 
le  and  marched  ranidlv  a  distance, 
then  jmt  down  tlieir  nuruen  a  few  mo- 
ments and  again  pressed  forward.  Each 
of  these  stops  is  denominated  Opuyid- 
jiumnon,  or,  a  phice  of  putting  down 
the  burden  by  i\w  Indians.  Thirteen 
of  these  rests  are  deemed  the  length  of 
the  portage.  The  path  is  rather  blind, 
and  requires  the  precision  of  an  Indian 
eye  to  detect  it.  Even  the  guide  was 
sometimes  at  a  loss  and  went  forward 
to  exf)lore.  We  passed  a  small  lake, 
occupying  a  vale  about  midway  of  the 
portage,  in  canoes.  The  route'beyond 
It  V7as  more  obstructed  with  underbrush. 
To  avoid  this  we  waded  through  the 
margins  of  a  couple  of  ponds  near  which 
we  oljserved  old  camp-poles,  indicating 
former  journeys  by  the  Indians." 


my 
led 

the 


In- 
the 
ca- 


Olatier'a  Aeeount,  "  Am.  Met.  Jour 
nal,"  1884,  p.  ii61. 

"  In  crossing  this  highland 
dian  guide,  Che-no-wa-gcsic, 
way,  canning,  as  usual,  one  of 
noes  as  his  part  of  the  burden.  The  oth- 
ers followed  in  Indian  flh*,  each  bearing 
a  canoe  or  its  equivalent  in  luggage.  As 
soon  as  all  were  on  the  trail  we  moved 
rapidly  forward,  halting  occasionally 
for  rest.  The  (."hippewas  denominate 
each  of  these  8tf)ps  opui/idjnrunon,  or,  a 
place  of  putting  down  the  burden. 
Thirteen  of  these  rests  were  given  by 
t!ho-no-wa-ge-sic  as  the  leiigtli  of  the 
nortnge.  The  trail  is  often  obscured 
ny  a  dense  undergrowth,  and  requires 
the  precision  of  an  Indian  eye  to  detect 
it.  Even  the  guide  was  sonu'times dis- 
concerted and  went  forward  to  explore. 
About  midway  of  the  iH)rtago  we  came 
to  a  small  lake,  into  which  we  quickly 
put  our  canoes  and  pulled  for  tlio  op- 
posite shore.  The  route  beyond  was 
mure  obstructed  by  underbrush.  To 
avoid  this  we  waded  through  the  mar- 
gins of  a  couple  of  ponds  near  which 
we  observed  old  camp-poles,  indicating 
former  journeys  by  the  Indians." 

And  now  Captain  Glazier,  as  if  loath  to  leave  this  interesting 
region,  regales  his  scientific  readers  in  the  "  Meteorological  Jour- 
nal" with  learned  observations  on  the  meteorology,  zoology, 
and  botany  of  this  portage : 


"Schoolcraft's  Narrative,"  1834,  p. 
64. 

"The  weather  was  warm  and  not  fa- 
vorable to  much  activity  in  bird  or 
beast.  VVe  saw  one  or  two  species  of 
the  falco  and  the  common  pigeon, 
which  extends  its  migrations  over  the 
continent.  Tracks  of  deer  were  nu- 
merous, but,  traveling  without  the  pre- 
caution required  in  hunting,  we  nad 
no  opportunity  of  seeing  this  animal 
on  high  grounds.  .  .  .  Ripe  straw- 
berries were  brought  to  me  by  the  men 
at  one  of  the  resting-places.  I  observed 
a  very  diminutive  species  of  raspberry, 
with  frnit,  on  the  moist  grounds.  Bot- 
anists would  probably  deem  the  plants 
few,  and  destitute  of  much  interest." 


Glazier's  Account,  "Am.  Met.  Jour- 
nal." 1884,  pp.  261.  203. 

"The  weather  was  much  warmer  than 
I  had  anticipated  for  this  elevated  re- 
gion, and  not  favorable  to  much  activ- 
ity in  bird  or  beast.  Several  flocks  of 
pigeons  and  other  birds  common  to 
northern  latitudes  were  frequently  ob- 
served. Tracks  of  deer  were  numerous 
in  the  marshes  skirting  the  ponds,  but, 
traveling  without  the  precautions  re- 
quired in  hunting,  we  had  no  oppor- 
tunity of  seeing  this  animal  in  the 
high  grounds.  Ripe  strawberries  were 
found  on  the  hillsides,  and  a  very  small 
species  of  raspberry  with  fruit  was 
brought  to  me  by  Che-no-wa-ge-sic  at 
one  of  the  resting-places.  The  students 
of  botany  would  consider  the  plants 
few,  and  of  little  consequence." 


%     1    ! 


1(1 


CAPTAIN  GLAZIER  AND  HIS  LAKE. 


51 


Thus,  tread inpf  in  tlx!  very  track  and  footprints  of  frroat- 
nesM,  Captain  0 lazier  reaches  Lak'o  Itasea.  On  the  next  day  lio 
paddles  in  liis  canoe  u  short  distance  up  one  of  the  feeders  of 
Itasca  and  discovers  "  Lake  Glazier."  This  is  the  way  it  hap- 
pencil : 


"  Schoolcraft's  Narrative,"  1834,  pp. 
OS.  6(3. 

"  Evory  ptcp  .  .  .  scpinod  to  in- 
crcaso  th«  ardor  with  which  we  woro 
curried  forward.  The  dcsiix'  of  reach- 
ini{  tlic  actual  source  r)f  a  slrouin  so 
celebrated  us  the  Misnissippi —  a  Btruam 
which  \av  Salle  hud  reaclu«i  the  mouth 
of  a  century  and  u  halt  (lacking;  a  jonr) 
befr)re — was  perhaps  predominant,  and 
wo  followed  our  f^uides  down  tliu  sides 
of  our  last  elevation  with  the  expecta- 
tion of  momentarily  reachincf  the  >;oal 
of  our  journey.  VVhat  had  been  loiij; 
soujrht  at  last  appeared  suddenly.  On 
turning  out  of  a  thicket  into  a  small 
weedy  opening,  the  cheerinLr  ^i^'ht  of  a 
transparent  body  of  water  b  ist  on  our 
view.  It  was  Itascu  Lake,  the  source 
of  the  Mississippi. " 


Olazifr'/i  Arrnunt,  "Am.  Met.  Jour- 
nal," 1884.  pp.  324,  325. 

"  Every  paddlo  stroke  seemed  to  in. 
erea.se  the  ardor  with  which  we  wero 
carried  forward.  The  desire  to  bee  tho 
actual  source  of  a  river  so  celebrated  as 
the  Mississippi,  whose  mouth  had  b(>en 
reachoil  by  l.a  Salle  nearly  two  centuries 
before,  was  doubtless  th(!  controlling^ 
incentive.     .  .     What    had   lonjf 

been  sou,'.,'ht  at  last  appeared  suddenly. 
On  pullinc;  and  pushing  our  way 
through  a  network  of  rushes  similar  tu 
the  one  encountered  on  leaving,'  Itasca, 
the  cheering  sight  of  a  transparent  body 
of  water  burst  upon  our  view.  1 1  wivs 
a  beautiful  lake — tho  aourco  of  tho 
Father  of  Waters." 


This  outburst  of  enthusiasm  lasts  but  a  moment,  and  the 
gallant  captain  again  becomes  the  ])hilos(>pher  and  scientist: 


"Schoolcraft's  Narrative,"  1834,  p. 
68. 

"The  height  of  this  lake  (Itasna) 
above  tho  sou  is  an  object  of  geographi- 
cal interest,  which,  in  the  absence  of 
actual  survey,  it  nuiy  subserve  the 
purposes  of  useful  iiKjuiry  to  estimate. 
From  notes  taken  on  the  ascent  it  can- 
not be  short  of  100  feet  above  f!ass 
Lake.  Adding  tho  estimate  of  1,830 
feet  submitted  in  1820  as  the  elevation 
of  that  lake,  the  Mississippi  majr  be 
considered  to  originate  at  an  altitude 
of  1,490,  sjiy  1,500,  feet  above  the  At- 
lantic.  Its  length,  assuming  former 
data  as  the  basis  and  computing  it 
through  the  Itascan  or  west  fork,  may 
be  placed  at  3,160  miles." 


Glazier's Acrount,  "Am.  Met.  Jour- 
nal," 1884,  p.  3?]7. 

"Its  (Lake  Glazier's)  height  above  tho 
sea  is  an  obiectof  geographical  interest, 
which,  in  the  absence  of  actual  survey, 
it  may  subserve  tho  purposes  of  useful 
inquiry  to  estimate.  From  notes  taken 
during  the  ascent  it  cannot  Ihj  less  than 
three  feet  above  Lake  Itasca.  Adding 
the  estimate  of  1,575  feet,  submitted  by 
Schoolcraft  in  1832  as  the  ehfvation  o£ 
that  lake,  tho  Mississippi  may  be  said 
to  originate  in  an  altitude  of  1,578  feet 
above  the  Atlantic  Ocean.  Its  length, 
taking  iVjrraer  data  as  the  basis,  and 
computing  through  the  western  fork, 
may  be  placed  at  3,184  miles." 


And  finally  Captain  Glazier  takes  leave  of  his  readers  of  the 
"Meteorological  Journal"  with  a  philosophic  piece  of  reasoning, 
which  he  thought  to  be  so  fine  that  he  also  incorporates  it  into 
his  letter  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Royal  Geographical  Society. 
Accounting  for  the  fact  that  ilie  source  of  the  Mississippi  had 
not  before  been  discovered,  he  says : 


62 


CAPTAm  GLAZIER  AND  HIS  LAKE. 


"Schoolcraft's  Narrative,"  1834,  p. 
59. 

"  Its  origin  in  the  remote  and  unfre- 
quented area  of  country  between  Leech 
Lake  and  Red  River,  probably  an  en- 
tire degree  of  latitude  south  of  Turtle 
Lake,  which  still  figures  on  some  of  our 
maps  as  its  source,  throws  both  the 
forks  of  this  stream  out  of  the  usual 
route  of  the  fur  trade,  and  furnishes, 
perhaps,  the  best  reason  why  its  actual 
so'.'rces  have  so  long  remained  envel- 
optd  in  obscurity." 


Glazier's  Account,  "  Am.  Met.  Jour- 
nal,"  1884,  p.  337. 

"  Its  origin  in  the  remote  and  unfre- 
quented region  of  countiy  between 
Leech  Lake  and  Red  River,  not  less 
than  an  entire  '^cgree  of  latitude  south 
of  Turtle  Lake^  which  was  for  many 
years  regarded  as  che  source,  throws 
both  forks  of  the  stream  out  o'  the  usual 
route  of  the  fur  traders,  and  furnishes 
the  best  reason,  perhaps,  why  its  foun- 
tain-head has  remained  so  long  onvel- 
oped  in  obscurity." 


A  FINAL 


"  ABSTRACTION." 


! ; 


!   *! 


Then,  as  an  "  addendum "  to  his  3torj  of  exploration,  the 
Captain  gives  a  "  Summary  of  meteorological  observations  at  the 
head-waters  of  the  Mississippi,"  in  which  he  records  the  state  of 
the  thermometer  several  times  daily,  and  notes  the  condition  of 
the  sky,  the  direction  a^d  character  of  winds,  etc.,  from  July  17, 
to  August  2,  inclusive.  It  is  interesting  to  compire  these  obser- 
vations with  those  taken  by  Schoolcraft  at  Big  Sandy  Lake,  and 
on  the  trip  down  the  river  from  that  laKe  to  St  Peter.  The  orig- 
inal record  is  to  be  found  in  two  tables  on  pages  268  and  Sl-l 
(if  Schoolcraft's  "  Nari-ative  of  an  J^xpedition  to  the  Sources  of 
'1.3  Mississippi  in  1820,"  published  in  Albany,  N.  Y.,  in  1821 ; 
and  these  tables  are  condensed  into  one  and  appear  in  the  form 
in  which  Glazier  appropriates  the;  i,  on  page  423  of  Schoolcraft's 
"  Summary  Narrative,"  published  in  1855.  The  tables  of  School- 
craft and  Glazier  are  identical  in  every  essential  parti  3ular.  The 
observations  begin  and  end  at  the  same  day  and  hour.  And 
why  does  Captain  Glazier  close  his  observations  at  7  A.M.  on  the 
2d  of  August,  1881?  Because,  just  sixty-one  years  before, 
namely,  on  the  2d  day  of  August,  1820,  Mr.  Schoolcraft,  in  at- 
tempting to  take  his  usual  observation  at  2  o'clock  P.M.,  broke 
his  instrument,  and  therefore  had  to  suspend  his  regular  record 
of  temperature  for  that  day  and  for  the  balance  of  the  journey. 
Such  is  the  far-reaching  influence  of  a  seemingly  trivial  and 
unimportant  circumstance ! 

The  two  tables  are  to  be  seen  together  on  the  following  page. 

•^^uch  is  'he  case  which  Captain  Glazier  makes  out  against 
himself.  If  it  throws  discredit  upon  his  whole  story,  and  leaves 
the  reader  in  doubt,  whether,  indeed,  he  ever  saw  Lake  Itasca, 
he  has  no  one  save  himself  to  blame. 


CAPTAIN  GLAZIER  AND  HIS  LAKE. 

[From  "  Schoolcraft's  Summary  Narrative,"  p.  423.] 

Observations  on  the  Sources  of  th^.  Mississippi  River, 


53 


^ 

» 

ik 

» 

^ 

n 

< 

■«! 

< 

h 

h 

p^ 

BEMAUK8. 

o 

I- 

00 

76 

80° 

CO 

79' 

C5 

78° 

July  17 

Morning  rainy,  then  fair. 

"    18 

51° 

64 

66 

53 

50 

Fair. 

"    19 

46 

63 

70 

55 

Night  rainy,  morning  cloudy, 
then  fair. 

"    20 

60 

80 

84 

75 

"    21 

68 

86 

88 

85 

74 

"    22 

73 

88 

90 

77 

Cloudy,  some  thunder. 

"    23 

70 

82 

88 

78 

Night  and  morning  rain,  after- 
noon thunder. 

"    24 

74 

87 

80 

78 

Fair. 

•'    25 

85 

74 

Fair. 

"    26 

61" 

81 

61 

Morning  fair,  evening  cloudy 
and  rain,  clear. 

«'    27 

02 

80 

75 

Morning  fair,  evening  fair. 

"    28 

63 

76 

61 

Morning  fair.rain  inafternoon. 

"    29 

50 

74 

52 

Clear. 

"    30 

60' 

76 

63 

Wind  N.W.,  weather  nlear. 

"    31 

65 

81 

69 

Wind  W.,  weather  cletir. 

Aug.    1 

,  , 

67 

83 

70 

Fair. 

"      2 

72 

* 

Fair. 

•  Broke  instrument. 


[From  Glazier's  Account,  "  Am.  Met  Journal,"  1884,  p.  328.] 
Meteorological  Observations  at  the  Head-waters  of  the  Mississippi. 


^ 

K 

a 

H 

s 

s 

< 

< 

•< 

p< 

p< 

Ph 

KEMARK8. 

lO 

l- 

00 

76° 

80° 

00 

79° 

78° 

July  17 

Morning  rainy,  then  fair. 

"    18 

51° 

64 

66 

53 

50 

Fair. 

"    19 

46 

63 

70 

55 

Night  rainy,  morning  cloudy, 
then  fair. 

"    20 

60 

80 

84 

75 

"    21 

68 

86 

88 

85 

74 

"    22 

73 

88 

90 

77 

Cloudy,  some  thunder. 

"    23 

70 

83 

88 

78 

Night  and  morning  rain,  after- 
noon thunder. 

"    24 

74 

87 

80 

78 

Fair. 

"    25 

85 

74 

Fair. 

"    26 

61° 

81 

01 

Morning  fair,  evening  cloudy 
and  rain,  clear. 

"    27 

62 

80 

75 

Morning  fair,  evening  fair. 

"    28 

62 

76 

61 

Morning  fair,rain  inafternoon. 

"    29 

50 

74 

53 

Clear. 

•'    30 

60° 

7(5 

63 

Wind  N.W.,  weather  clear. 

"    31 

■a5 

81 

69 

Wind  W.,  weather  clear. 

Aug.   1 

,  , 

67 

83 

70 

, , 

Fair. 

"      2 

72 

Fair. 

54 


CAPl^dN  GLAZIER  AND  HIS  LAKE. 


':% 


WHAT  GLAZIER   MIGHT  HAVE   DONE. 

There  is  sufficient  reason,  however,  to  believe  that  Captain 
Glazier  went  to  Lake  Itasca  and  Elk  Lake  very  much  in  the  way 
and  by  the  route  he  describes  in  his  papers  in  the  "  Meteorological 
Journal,"  and  certainly  the  projecting  and  carrying  out  of  such  a 
trip  is,  upon  its  face,  highly  creditable  to  any  man.  But  it  is 
not  creditable  to  a  professed  explorer  that  he  should  be  so  utterly 
ignorant  as  was  Captain  Glazier,  of  the  very  simplest  facts  re- 
garding the  geography  of  the  country  he  attempts  to  explore. 

Captain  Glazier  should  have  fully  informed  himself  regarding 
the  work  of  Nicollet.  Instead,  he  seems  to  have  only  the  very 
vaguest  notion  of  such  a  character. 

He  should  have  sought  the  help  of  the  records  in  the  Land 
Department  at  Washington.  He  evidently  was  not  aware  that 
there  was  such  a  department  of  the  government. 

He  should  have  consulted  the  Topographical  or  Engineers* 
Bureau  of  the  United  States  Army,  where  Nicollet's  papers  and 
note-books  are  deposited.  Perhaps  he  did  not  know  there  was 
any  such  thing  as  a  United  States  Army  left  after  he  resigned 
his  commission. 

At  St.  Paul  he  should  have  availed  himself  of  the  resources 
of  the  State  Geological  and  Natural  History  Survey ;  then,  and 
for  a  year  or  two  before,  in  active  study  of  the  very  region  for 
which  he  was  bound. 

There,  also,  he  should  have  consulted  the  officers,  the  library, 
and  the  valuable  collection  of  papers  of  the  Minnesota  State  His- 
torical Society. 

At  St.  Paul  and  Minneapolis  he  would  have  found  a  number 
of  intelligent  and  courteous  gentlemen  in  the  Land  Department 
of  the  Northern  Pacific  Eailroad,  who  could  have  given  him 
many  hints  as  to  what  was  known  and  what  was  to  be  discov- 
ered about  the  sources  of  the  Mississippi. 

The  Register  of  the  United  States  Land  Office  at  St.  Paul 
would  have  shown  him  the  official  plats  of  all  the  surveyed 
townships  in  the  Itascan  region,  if  he  had  but  asked  the  privi- 
lege of  consulting  them. 

Finally,  he  might  have  found  the  men  who  spent  four  weeks 
in  September  and  October,  1875,  making  the  government  survey 
of  the  two  townships  which  contain  all  the  feeders  of  Elk  Lake 


' 


CAPTAIN  GLAZIER  AND  HIS  LAKE. 


65 


and  Lake  Itasca  ;  niid  they  would  gladly  have  aided  him  with 
practical  suggestions  as  to  what  to  look  for  and  where  to  find  it. 

All  these  sources  of  information  are  freely  and  cordially  at 
the  service  of  any  intelligent  explorer;  and  Captain  Glazier 
would  have  gained  a  much  larger  opinion  of  the  general  intelli- 
gence of  the  American  people  if  he  had  taken  pains  to  find  out 
how  much  is  really  known  about  the  head-waters  of  the  Missis- 
sippi, though  his  conceit  of  his  own  knowledge  and  importance 
might  have  suffered  correspondingly. 

And  after  such  intelligent  study  of  the  problem,  he  would 
have  found  that  there  were  still  questions  worthy  the  labors  of  a 
competent  and  properly  equipped  explorer.  To  the  solution  of 
these  questions  he  should  have  addressed  himself  if  he  wished 
to  add  anything  to  the  stock  of  knowledge  concerning  the  great 
watershed  of  the  height  of  land,  and  the  drainage  basin  of  Lake 
Itasca,  This  much  is  certain,  that  to  see  Elk  Lake  and  Lake 
Itasca  was  not  enough  to  compensate  for  the  expense  and  trouble 
of  going  to  the  head-waters  of  the  Mississippi. 


THE   REAL  FXPLORATION  OF  THE  ITASCA  BASIN. 

It  is  impossible  to  say  how  many  exploring  parties  of  white 
men  had  been  to  both  those  lakes  before  Captain  Glazier,  but 
there  were,  probably,  a  dozen  or  a  score,  at  the  least.  They  each 
could  tell  much  of  interest  regarding  that  region,  but  it  is  safe  to 
say  that  only  two  have  added  anything  material  to  what  School- 
craft told  the  world  in  1832.  These  two  are  the  Nicollet  Expe- 
dition of  1836,  and  the  Land  Department  Surveyors  of  1875. 
And  we  cannot  too  carefully  note  the  different  ways  of  working 
of  these  two  explorations. 

Nicollet  was  a  trained  scientist,  but  he  worked  under  limita- 
tions, and  very  sensibly,  also,  with  a  limited  and  definite  pur- 
pose. His  work  -w.  s  mainly  done  alone,  and  his  chief  instru- 
ments were  the  thermometer,  the  barometer,  the  sextant,  and  the 
compass.  Hence  he  gives  us  details  of  temperature,  elevation, 
latitude,  longitude,  and  the  general  direction  of  the  parts  he  vis- 
ited. He  rarely  used  the  chain,  if,  indeed,  he  carried  such  a  piece 
of  property.  His  details  of  distance  were  either  estimated — as  in 
the  case  of  a  day's  tramp  or  an  object  within  sight — or  figured 
out  by  mathematical  rules,  as  when  he  computed  the  length  of  a 


56 


CAPTAIN  GLAZIER  AND  HIS  LAKE. 


'   1 


i:l. 


section  of  the  river  from  the  data  of  the  latitude,  longitude,  and 
direction  from  each  other  of  a  given  number  of  points  in  its 
course.  Hence  Ins  outline  of  the  course  of  a  river  or  creek,  or 
of  the  form  of  a  lake  or  pond,  was  only  as  accurate  as  might  be 
expected  from  a  trained  explorer,  whose  eye  was  accustomed  to 
take  in  and  measure  distance,  direction,  and  form,  on  a  large 
scale,  and  under  a  thousand  varying  conditions.  In  the  matter 
of  general  relict  form.-?,  and  the  general  trend  and  drainage  of 
the  country,  ho  was,  without  doubt,  the  best  equipped  and  most 
competent  single  explorer  who  has  undertaken  the  study  of  our 
country ;  and  his  work  has  been  of  inestimable  value  to  hun- 
dreds of  thousands  who  never  heard  of  his  name.  So  far  as  re- 
lates to  the  subdivision  of  areas,  and  the  surveying  and  platting 
of  the  surface  of  the  land,  considered  as  a  horizontal  plane,  his 
work  did  not  profess  to  have  any  accuracy  or  value  whatever. 

On  the  other  hand,  this  last  is  the  chief,  if  not  the  only,  object 
of  the  Government  Land  Surveyors.  Their  instructions  are  lim- 
ited and  specific.  They  take  no  note  whatever  of  relief  forms,  they 
follow  up  and  trace  only  the  streams  and  ponds  intercepted  by 
the  boundary-lines  of  sections.  In  the  matter  of  horizontal  area, 
in  the  meandering  of  lakes  and  navigable  streams,  and  in  the 
general  platting  of  the  land,  they  are  proverbially  reliable ;  but 
there  is  absolutely  no  account  taken  of  elevation,  and  the  drain- 
age or  trend  of  the  land  can  only  be  inferred  lom  the  course 
and  direction  of  the  streams  encountered  in  running  the  section 
lines. 

Nicollet's  exploration  was  made  in  1836,  before  a  surveyor's 
stake  had  been  set  within  the  limits  of  Minnesota.  The  Gov- 
ernment Surveyors  of  1875  perhaps  never  heard  of  Nicollet, 
and  certainly  had  no  thought  of  supplementing  or  verifying  his 
work. 

WHAT  REMAINS  TO   BE   DONE. 

In  general,  therefore,  the  best  sort  of  work  that  can  be  done 
by  the  explorer  of  to-day  is  to  reconcile  and  adjust  these  two 
sets  of  data  to  each  other.  And,  as  applied  to  the  head- waters  of 
the  Mississippi,  the  main  thing  to  do  is  to  determine  and  locate 
the  exact  water-shed  which  separates  the  Itasca  basin  from  the 
sources  of  the  Red  River  of  the  North  on  the  one  hand,  and  from 
the  head-springs  of  tributaries  of  the  Mississippi  on  the  other. 


1 


CAPTAIN  GLAZIER  AND  UIS  LAKE. 


57 


f 


Having  definitely  outlined  the  drainage  basin  to  tlie  soiitb  of 
Itasca,  it  is  worth  while  to  trace  the  principal  feeders  of  the 
lake  to  their  springs,  to  determine  the  area  drained  by  each,  the 
volume  of  their  flow,  and  the  rapidity  of  their  currents,  to  meas- 
ure the  elevation  of  their  extreme  sources  above  the  level  of  Lake 
Itasca,  and  to  find  how  far  they  are  perennial,  and  how  much  of 
their  course  is  dry  during  a  portion  of  the  year.  Investigation 
will  also  show  what  changes  have  occurred  in  the  amount  of  nat- 
ural water-supply  in  this  region  ;  what  alterations  in  the  levels 
and  dimensions  of  lakes  and  ponds  have  been  occasioned  by  the 
choiring  up  of  their  inlets  or  outlets  by  natural  causes,  or  by  the 
operation  of  beavers  and  other  animals  ;  and  whether  any  of  the 
lakes  or  marshes  are  drained  at  any  time  by  both  the  Mississippi 
and  the  Red  River  of  the  North.  It  will  not  take  long,  also,  for 
an  intelligent  explorer  to  satisfy  himself  whether,  at  any  time, 
Elk  Lake  and  Itasca  Lake  were  a  continuous  body  of  water  con- 
nected by  a  broad  channel. 

These  are  some  of  the  questions  to  which  the  future  explorer 
should  address  himself,  and  such  questions  arc  the  only  ones 
whose  investigation  will  justify  any  one  in  considering  himself 
an  explorer,  or  his  work  entitled  to  the  consideration  of  geog- 
raphers and  geographical  societies.  It  is,  at  the  same  time,  safe 
to  venture  the  prediction  that  the  more  thorough  the  investiga- 
tion of  the  Itasca  basin,  the  clearer  will  be  the  conclusion  that 
Lake  Itasca  is  the  first  considerable  gathering-place  of  the  great 
flood  of  waters  which  goes  to  make  up  the  Mississippi  River ;  that 
Nicollet's  rivulet,  with  its  chain  of  three  lakes,  is,  indeed,  its 
most  important  feeder  and  principal  tributary,  and  that  it  is  still 
entitled  to  be  called,  as  heretofore,  the  head  and  source  of  that 
mighty  stream — Captain  Glazier  and  his  lake  to  the  contrary 


notwithstanding. 


FINALLY. 


Already  the  settler  is  taking  up  land  and  felling  timber  on 
the  shores  of  Lake  Itasca ;  and  with  the  clearing  of  the  forests, 
and  the  systematic  drainage  and  cultivation  of  farms,  the  smaller 
streams  and  ponds  will  dry  up  and  disa})pear,  while  other  lakes 
and  creeks  will  cease  to  have  the  importance  that  they  may  now 
possess.  These  changes,  however,  cannot  affect  the  shape  and 
conformation  of  the  basin  of  Lake  Itasca,  or  the  location  of  the 


!■ 


58 


CAPTAIN  GLAZIER  AND  HIS  LAKE. 


water-shed  of  the  heights  of  land.  There  are  certain  elements  in 
the  regioiA  that  are  permanent,  and  certain  others  that  are  tem- 
porary and  will  soon  undergo  the  changes  which  accompany  the 
settlement  and  subjection  of  the  wilderness.  The  Lake  Itasca 
of  Schoolcraft  and  Nicollet,  in  the  main,  survives  to  the  present 
day.  A  few  years  more  will  see  many  of  its  features  changed 
past  recognition. 

This,  then,  is  an  especially  fitting  time  to  supplement  the 
work  of  Nicollet  and  the  Government  Surveyors,  by  a  careful 
examination  of  the  Itascan  basin  in  the  light  of  all  previous  ex- 
plorations. If  it  is  worth  doing,  it  should  not  long  be  delayed ; 
and  that  it  is  well  worth  doing,  the  interest  of  the  public  already 
enlisted  in  this  discussion  clearly  proves.  Further,  the  fact  that 
a  mere  superficial  charlatan  has  been  able  to  lead  astray  and  bo- 
fog  the  press  and  the  scientific  bodies  of  almost  the  entire  coun- 
try. East  and  West,  is  no  small  proof  that  it  is  desirable  to  settle 
all  the  questijons  at  issue. 

The  publishers  of  this  paper,  Messrs.  Ivison,  Blakeman,  Tay- 
lor &  Co.,  have  taken  this  view  of  the  case ;  and,  ever  since  the 
first  issue  was  raised  with  Captain  Glazier,  they  have  been  satis- 
fied that  nothing  short  of  a  thorough  exploration  of  the  region 
in  question  would  satisfy  them,  as  educational  publishers,  or 
justify  them  in  making  any  changes  in  their  geographical  text- 
books. They  have,  therefore,  authorized  the  equipment  and 
dispatch  of  a  competent  exploring  party  to  Lake  Itasca ;  and, 
while  I  write  this  paragraph,  the  party  is  already  on  the  ground 
with  adequate  force,  and  fully  equipped  with  instruments  for  the 
complete  survey  and  delineation  of  the  region  which  supplies 
the  chief  feeders  of  Lake  Itasca. 

The  results  of  this  exploration  will  be  thoroughly  sifted,  and 
it  is  reasonable  to  predict  that  they  will  be  of  such  a  character 
as  to  satisfy  every  one  as  to  the  exact  conformation  of  the  re- 
gion which  gives  birth  to  the  great  Mississippi.  Whatever  may 
be  learned  will  be  given  to  the  public  as  soe:i  as  it  can  be  put 
in  shape,  and  it  is  reasonable  to  expect  that  this  too  much  vexed 
question  will  thus  be  finally  and  conclusively  settled. 

Henry  D.  Harrower. 

763  Eeoadwat,  New  York,  October  20, 1886. 


1 


\ 


FOR    SBCONDARY    SCHOOLS. 


HISTORY. 


^ 


PHYSICS 

AND 

CHEMISTRY. 


BOTANY. 


ZOOLOGY. 


OBOLOGY. 


PHYSICAL 
GEOGRAPHY. 


Fisher's  Outlines  of  Universal  History. 

Designed  as  a  text-book  and  for  private  reading.    1  vol  ,  Svo,  690  paces, 
82  maps.  For  introduction,  <ja.40. 

"The  best  work  of  its  kind  extant  In  English."— A^«w  York  Tribune. 

Swlnton's  Outlines  of  the  World's  History 

12mo,  lUnstrated,  map,  500  pages.  For  introduction,  $1.41. 

Cooley's  New  Text-Book  of  Physics. 

I3y  LeRot  C.  Coolkt,  Ph.D.    BeTiaed.    12mo,  346  paceH.  IlluHtratcd. 

For  introduction,  $0.iJO. 
Wells's  N»>.«,ural  Philosophy. 

1  vol.,  fi5  pages,  Illustrated.  For  introduction,  $1.15. 

Cooley's  New  Text>Book  of  Chr-Tiistry. 

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Eliot  ana  Storer's  Elementary  Chemistry. 

12mo,  350  ^  ages,  Illustrated.  For  introduction,  $1.08. 


Gray's  How  Plants  Grow. 

For  young  people  and  the  schools.    Small  4to,  500  Illustrations. 

For  introduction,  $0.80. 

Gray's  School  and  Field  Book  of  Botany. 

The  most  widely  used  l)otanlcul  text-book  in  Secondary  Schools.    8vo, 
631  pages,  Illustrated.  For  Introduction,  Sl.tJO. 

Gray's  Manual  of  Botany. 

Eighth  ioBue.    Containing,  besides  illnstrations,  20  plates  of  sedges, 
grasses,  ferns,  etc.    jvo,  7UU  pages.  For  introduction,  $1.62. 

Gray's  Structural  Botany. 

Being  Vol.  I.  of  Gray's  New  Botanical  Text-Book. 

For  introduction,  $8.00. 
Ooodale's  Physioloerical  Botany. 

Being  Vol.  II.  of  Qray's  New  Botanical  Text-Book.    fVols.  in.  and  P.'. 

in  preparation.)  For  introduction,  $3.U0. 

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